


Those In Relation

by Anonymous



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Blood and gore???, Demonic Powers, Dream demons, F/F, F/M, Gideon Gleeful - Freeform, Gravity Falls - Freeform, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mabel Pines - Freeform, Mason “Dipper” Pines - Freeform, Mild Cursing, Religious Symbolism, Reverse Dipper Pines, Reverse Falls, Reverse Ford Pines, Reverse Mabel Pines, Reverse Stan Pines, Slightly blood reference, Will Cipher - Freeform, bodily scars, powers, what if
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:27:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 24,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26414143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: In the small town of Gravity Falls, no one bats an eye at the strange and unusual. Especially when it comes to the Pines Family.Gideon Gleeful and Pacifica Northwest are cousins sent out to spend the summer at their mechanic uncle Jimmy. But all become strange when the Pines’ great nephew and niece come to town and cause trouble. Because after all, wickedness runs in the family.
Relationships: Dipper Pines/Pacifica Northwest, Gideon Gleeful/Mabel Pines, Pacifica Northwest/Mabel Pines, Past Ford Pines/Male OC, Robbie Valentino/Tambry, Wendy Corduroy/Robbie Valentino
Comments: 5
Kudos: 37
Collections: Anonymous Collection





	1. Colorful Beads and Mythology Books

**Author's Note:**

> I know that I’m like seven years late but after I binged watched the series for the first time since I was like eleven I wanted to write it so here. 
> 
> Characters based off of the tumblr artist evaroze.

Out in the Northwest, in the middle of nowhere yet close enough to highways to intrigue people’s interest when they see that small town out of the corner of their eye hidden the white rolling fog, there was a town where only those who wanted to be scammed out of money with overpriced coffee and eggs in _Greasy’s Diner_ or any other tourist traps littered around the town. It was a normal little town. At first glance. 

The residents of this _hick_ town know that when the sun falls into the horizon line it is best to shut their blinds, pull their children inside when the streetlights flicker on and pray to whatever God is out there that they would make it through the night without any explosions or with the town flipping upside-down. Everyone looks the other way when they see a mysterious blue pulsing energy coming from the large cabin that was tucked neatly in the woods where no one wants to walk by.

Everyone knows that it’s best to look the other way when it has to do with Gravity Falls.

  
  
  
  


On the first day here, Gideon had already sneaked into the town library and taken out enough books to last him the whole month, including the re-reading and the analysing of the text. It had been a struggle to carry a stack of books that was taller than him in his arms back to his Uncle’s place without falling over-- but he managed. On the third day he made a small dent on the books he had borrowed.

_In the 17th century, it was said that the demon Clauneck was able to grant any wishes as he had the power over goods and money and finance. He was able to bestow the greatest wealth to anyone that wishes as he was loved enviously by Lucifer Himself._

“Hey you want me to make you a bracelet?”

Gideon let out a small, high pitch scream. His book dropped on the wooden floor with a loud thud. His heart had jumped up into his throat and when he heard his cousin giggle he felt his round, plump face turn a bright pink. “Sweet biscuits, Pacifica!” he mumbles as he gets off of his bed to pick up his book from the floor. “You gave me a heart attack.”

She continues to giggle. “Really? With that scream of yours I’m surprised that I didn’t start bleeding from my ears,” Pacifica says as she rubs her ear with her free hand, her other hand was busy trying to not let the colorful beads slip from the string. 

There was a knock on the door. “I heard a scream. Are you okay, Pacifica?” It was their uncle speaking through the other side of the door.

Gideon felt his hace turn a deeper shade of pink. “I was… the one that screamed,” he confessed and he was met with a loud, deep laughter that came from the deepest part of his uncle Jimmy’s chest. Gideon can imagine him bent over as he laughed.

“Sorry, boy,” he said, still laughing. “With that voice of yours I assumed it was your cousin’s scream.” His uncle walks away from the door, still laughing as the stairs creak under his weight slowly disappearing. 

He looks down at the book in embarrassment, his face aching with all of the blood rushing to his face. “Aw, don’t beat yourself up, Cuzzo,” Pacifica said as he punched his arm lightly. “Girls nowadays love sensitive guys,” she said, trying to cheer him up. It didn’t work. It made him slightly more nervous. No one but a small category of girls would even find him attractive, and even if they did that would still bother him that they only like him for being sensitive-- _dainty_ perhaps.

When Gideon’s parents told him that they were going to send him to this middle of nowhere town with his over excited cousin, he wasn’t happy at all. Don’t get him wrong, he loves his cousin more than anything. She’s the only relative that was closest to his age and he actually gets along with her, despite their drastically different personalities. The moment he stepped into this town that was surrounded by deep patches of woods and darkness his heart stopped and his instinct was to run as far away as possible but his feet were swallowed by the dirt, feeling frozen into place. A pulsing energy hits him strongly, feeling it under his skin and deep into his bones and at the tip of his teeth. And it somehow made his stay.

“Whatcha reading?” his cousin asks, the bracelet done. It was one of those bead bracelets that many little kids can make and usually wear all stacked up on their wrists; like Pacifica. 

He looks at the book. “Just somethin’ about demons,” he says, sitting back on the bed. “I got it from the library.” 

Pacifica giggles. “We haven’t even explored the whole town yet and you’ve already taken out most of the library,” she said, pointing at the stack of books on the foot of his bed. “We should go to the craft store!” she spoke loud, standing up. Pacifica had the habit of drastically changing the subject or blurting out something that she was thinking.

Gideon jumped a little, not used to her sudden outbursts. “You already finished your stash?” he jokes, looking for the page that he lost when he dropped the book. Her stash was a large box that sat at the bottom of her suitcase filled with string and colorful beads that she had brought from home. 

“Yeah!” she said loudly, standing next to him with her hands behind her back, hiding something. “I made you some bracelets.” Pacifica puts her hand out with two different bead bracelets in her palm. 

He looks at her hand and he takes the bracelets, cool and smooth against his skin. One of them was green and blue beads, the other one was yellow and blue-- yellow being Pacifica’s favorite color and the dark navy blue being his own. Gideon looks at her with a smile wrinkling his soft, baby-like face. He was a nice-looking boy, copper red hair and freckles paint across his white cheeks and pink-ish nose. “Thank you,” he says as he slips them onto his left wrist. “If you want… we can go to that craft store.”  
  


Pacifica made a noise of excitement, jumping up and down in excitement. It was rare for Gideon to be willing to go out in public, always being the hermit of the family-- shy and someone who only went out when it was needed out or if he was being pulled out. But for his cousin, he’ll go with her. 

  
  
  
  


Uncle Jimmy was a mechanic. His house was filled with spare car parts, pictures of his ‘proudest projects’ and old newspaper clippings in frames on the wall. He was a strange-normal man, tall and slim with wide shoulders and a hard chest, he had long red dark red hair that looked brown in a certain angle. It was a similar shade to Gideon’s, red hair running in the family somehow. The only reason why so many people thought he was strange because every once in a while he would look into space, as if someone had pressed the pause on him. Gideon told his parents about this the first night they stayed on the phone and his mother said that Uncle Jimmy was in the army back in the late 80s and early 90s and that he saw something that shook him to his core. Gideon knows that it should have terrified him but instead, a sadness fills him. 

His father’s brother was standing by the front desk, counting the money that was in the register. He heard that his past employees took advantage of his kindness and of his illness, stealing money from the register and since then, he counts the money twice a day-- the time right before lunch and at the end of the day. Besides him was the front cashier, sitting in her stool as she read her magazine despite the long bright red bang across her right eye, her only uncovered eye was surrounded by thick eyeliner and eyeshadow. 

Pacifica jumps in front of the desk with a bright smile. “Uncle Jimmy! Uncle Jimmy!” she chirps, jumping up and down like she had a hard sugar rush. 

“Yes, sunshine?” Uncle Jimmy says, not looking up from counting the money. _Sunshine_ was a nickname that he had given her the moment he laid his eyes on her. Her blonde hair is sometimes in tall pigtails, being held up with colorful rubber bands or with rainbow scrunchies. Her bangs had glittery or bright hair clips. And everytime she smiles, she could basically light up a dark room. 

“Can we go to the craft store?” Pacifica asked, rocking onto the balls of her feet. 

Jimmy looks away from the stack of money, slipping it back into the register. “Sorry, sunshine but I have to meet with a client later,” he says. “And it’s a big truck so I’m not going to finish until sundown.” 

Pacifica’s body deflates with a long sigh, all of her excitement left her body as her head falls. “Alright,” she said, disappointed. 

“I can take them,” someone says. Gideon turns around and sees a tall, big man standing by the doorway. The light behind him casted a shadow across his face and would have been scary if Gideon hadn’t seen the man around the shop always drinking soda, having a food stain on his cheek and being very helpful with their uncle. “It’s almost lunch time anyways,” he says as he steps into the room and they see Soos’ soft tummy and kind face. 

Jimmy hums, looking at the clock on the wall that was shaped like a truck. “I suppose you are right,” he mumbles. Gideon had noticed that when his uncle was thinking something over, he would say his words completely. “Alright. You can go, take care of the kiddos, Soos.” Uncle Jimmy said. “Wendy, you can take your lunch break too if you want. If it doesn’t interrupt the one that you’re on right now.” 

Wendy, the troubled and goth teen blows her bang off of her face but it still comes back to rest on top of her eye like it was supposed to be there for the rest of her awkward teen years. “Whatever,” she mumbles as she closes up the magazine but stands up, wanting to come. 

Pacifica grins and jumps up and down in excitement with a grin so large that it hurts her face, her body was buzzing with excitement as if she just won a pony. “Great!” She grabs Gideon by his arm and Soos by the bottom of his shirt out the door.

As Wendy walks towards the door to follow them, she feels a tap on her shoulder. “Keep an eye on the kids. That includes Soos.” She gives him a single nod after a small hum before she leaves. Jimmy smiles to himself, running a hand through his hair. “Nice kids.” 

  
  
  
  


The thing about Gravity Falls is that even though there’s a smaller population here than any other town or city in Texas or in California, you don’t exactly know everyone who lives here. Their face might be a passing glance that doesn’t affect your day. But the face of an outsider or of a tourist is easy to spot. Somehow, the people of Gravity Falls had shadows under the eyes that show stress at night in the darkness that they cannot leave. 

As they walked, Pacifica’s eyes did not leave the back of the goth’s head, staring at her with stars in her eyes and a wide smile on her face. She watched the teen, slouching with her hair covering her face as she texted on her phone. Ever since Pacifica arrived at her uncle’s shop and saw the teen sitting by the register, reading her magazine is when she suddenly understood why all of her friends talked about boys. She felt the same way about her. 

Gideon was holding his cousin’s hand, they have always been close. Both being the only child in their family, they did not have others their age and they were okay with sitting with each other at dinner alone together. He squeezed her hand, confused on why she was staring like she was trying to burn holes through the back of Wendy’s head. But his cousin’s eyes did not peel away until they had to stop for a few cars to pass. 

“You’re actin’ strange,” he whispers to his cousin.

She shakes her head, finally looking at him. “No I’m not,” she says.

Gideon sighs, looking at the sidewalk before looking up at her. “Bein’ girl-crazy is worse than bein’ boy-crazy,” he mumbles. 

His cousin poked his cheek. “Leave me alone,” Pacifica said. “Just read your nerdy book already.” He blushes before clutching on to the book that he had in the inner pocket of his jacket. He let go of his cousin’s hand, seeing that she’s gonna pay more attention to someone else anyways. Taking out the hardcover books, he stares at the design that was pressed into the matte material of the cover. It was one of the smaller books in his stack, always choosing a book to take around at any time or place and it bothered his parents enough to hide the library card under the rug in their bedroom. 

“Whatcha reading there, dude?” Soos asks, looking down at him and looking at the book in the eleven year old’s hands.

He shrugs. “A book about mythology.”

“Cool,” he chuckles. “What type? Does it have elves or--or dragons?” Soos asked, excited.

Gideon grins at him, happy to explain it to him. To be fair, Soos didn’t seem the type to have the ability to concentrate to read a whole book. “Not this one. I’m reading about Abrahamic religions right now-- Christianity, Islam and Judaism.” 

Soos nods. “Anything spooky in there?” he asks, looking at the book again with a bit more interest. 

The eleven year old looks up at him, seeing sweat roll down his temple from the heat of the Oregon summer. “Well… there--there’s some creatures. Like the Dybbuk! It’s a malice spirit that possesses people. It is said that it is the soul of a dead person looking for help and will leave the body if it is happy.” Whenever someone asked Gideon anything to do with things like this-- things that he was actually passionate about, his confidence went up by a significant amount. And maybe when he was older, once he grew up more, he would be able to not stutter as much and be more proud of himself for reading so much about the things that made him happy.

Soos made a noise of interest, happy to have learned something new from a child who was significantly younger than him. And Gideon’s face lit up with pride and full of glee. 

His cousin was still staring at the teenager with bright stars in her eyes, the same type of glittery stars that hang off of the scrunchies in her hair. It would have been cute if she wasn’t staring intensely-- it almost came off as creepy. Having a twelve year old stare at you like you were the one who hung the moon and not say anything can get pretty unsettling. “Are you hot under there?” Pacifica blurts out the thought that crosses her brain. 

Wendy doesn’t even flinch at the question, being one of the only two or three goths in this miserable small town would make you numb to those sorts of questions. “A little,” she answers in monotone. “You get used to it. I don’t sweat like I did before.” 

“Like Gideon?” Pacifica asks. “Because he doesn’t sweat at all.” 

Her cousin feels his cheeks turn pink. “Shhh!” he hushes at her. “You don’t have to tell everyone.” Slapping his hand over her mouth but felt something warm and wet flick across the palm of his hand. He lets out a grossed out sound, wiping his cousin’s saliva onto her sweater. 

Wendy looks at him, her eyebrows knitted together at the strange fact. “Like at all? Not even a droplet?” She leans down to his level, swiping her index finger against his hairline and pulling it away, looking at it. “... that’s so spooky. And awesome.” 

Gideon turns redder in the face and can feel it crawl under his shirt. God, he hated it when the attention was suddenly on him-- he didn’t even ask for his cousin to say that. Ever since Pacifica learned that he doesn’t even sweat a drop, she tells almost everyone she meets as if that’s the only interesting thing about him. Well… it kind of is. Which is pathetic. 

“Why don’t you sweat?” she asks, rubbing her index finger with her thumb. 

He shrugs. “I just… don’t?” Gideon doesn’t know what to say about that. He just doesn’t know why he can’t sweat a drop. 

“That’s freaky. Like a weird superpower,” she says. “Even I sweat.”

Obviously. She always had her long hair down and wore skinny black jeans with thick and heavy boots, the only sign of actual fresh air hitting skin was a black tube top that she sometimes even wore a dark heavy flannel shirt on. If Gideon was able to sweat, he would have been drowning in that outfit. 

“It’s kinda cool,” Soos points out. “Literally,” he said with a chuckle as he opened the craft store’s front door.

Despite Gideon never having friends before, never recognizing the feeling of having something to compare it to but now he can say that he has someone beside Pacifica. He suddenly now has friends. He smiles to himself, tucking the book back into his jacket. 

  
  
  
  
  
  



	2. Rotten Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> New In Town

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no not me writing Pacifica as a hyper lesbians because I’m definitely not self inserting myself into an underrated character/s

After what seemed to be hours, Pacifica came out with two baggies full with crafting beads that ranged from different colors and shapes. She had stared at the wall that had them on display for a full five minutes before arguing with herself in which to buy. She wanted the purple ones but also the star shaped ones-- but also the purple star shaped ones. She was terrible in making decisions, especially when it had to do with things that she loved. Instead of making up her mind, she grabbed all of the ones she liked: the purple star shaped ones, the pink heart ones, the yellow stars, green flowers and most of the glittery types that they had on display. And some extra elastic string because of course she would need it. When she was ready to check out, the old lady who was the owner of the store gave her a pair of scissors-- pink and with purple cats on them and Pacifica’s face lit up like she just won the lottery. 

Gideon had accepted that his cousin was easily pleased and impressed, happy to accept acts of kindness as she was always ready to give back. Him, however, was not. His guard was always up as if some monster might come out of nowhere and attack him and those he loves. He knows that him stressing out so much that his hair might turn white when he hits thirteen. 

His cousin was walking with the baggies in hand, swinging them as she walked and taking large steps, strolling with a pleased grin. “Please don’t tell me you didn’t spend all of the money your parents gave you,” Gideon asks, worried since that money was supposed to last them the whole summer. 

She shakes her head, hair going everywhere and hitting him in the face in sharp motions. “Nope! I spent some of yours.”

Gideon’s heart dropped. “What? Why!” he asked, hurt and offended that she snooped around to get some dollars from him.    
  


“Relax,” she adds quickly. “I only took twenty. I’ll give it back soon as I can--”

“How are you goin’ to pay it back? You don’t have a job-- you’re twelve,” Gideon says. “No one is going to hire you.” 

Wendy pushed the door open for the gas station they were stepping, wanting to buy some snacks before having to return to work and dropping off the kids with their uncle, spending their lunch break babysitting their boss’ nephew and niece. _ Dusk2Dawn  _ had a weird smell, like it was stuck in the past and sour pickle juice. 

Pacifica shrugs, walking into the candy section and her cousin following behind her with an annoyed look. “I don’t know,” she says, taking some peach rings and sour gummy worms packets. “I’ll figure it out.” She placed the candy on the counter to pay alongside Soos’  _ Large Sip  _ and Wendy’s cold sandwich. 

They walk out, Pacifica munching on her gummy worms before offering it to her cousin, who shook his head. “Relax,” she says. “Knowing your dumb luck--” 

Gideon groans when he felt something squishy under his foot. His shoe was covered in mud and he could feel some of it wet into his sock, he kicked the mud off the best he could. “Yeah, my dumb luck.” He reaches over to grab the gummy worms, munching on them angrily. 

He kicks a stray rock with his muddy wet shoe, the rock bouncing off a wall and hitting him in the cheek. “OW!” Gideon groans, rubbing his cheek, feeling a little bit of blood on his fingers. “Rotten luck,” he mumbles. 

“Yikes, dood,” Soos winces. “You do have bad luck. I think we should take you back to have your face checked out.” 

The eleven year old grumbles to himself, rubbing his cheek. Gideon got the air knocked out of him, bumping into someone before crashing into the pavement and into more mud. He groans before feeling his cousin pick him up. “Are you okay?” she asks, his clothes completely dirty.

He nods, wiping the gravel and wet mud off of his hands. “Yeah,” he says as he looks up to see that it wasn’t just one person he bumped into but a whole crowd of people. It was probably the whole town that was gathered around the opening in the woods that led deeper and deeper to a spot that made the hairs on the back of Gideon’s neck stand up like he was an animated cat. There was something about that opening that made him so uncomfortable that it made him walk faster every time he walked past it.

“What’s going on here?” Pacifica asked, jumping the best she could to see what the crowd was for. “Are they selling kittens? Llamas?” she lets out a gasp as stars fill her eyes. “Kitten-llamas?” 

Wendy lets out a huff of air. “Ugh. They’re coming here already? I thought they usually came a month into the summer.”

“Yeah. It’s kinda weird that they came early,” Soos adds, able to see over almost everyone’s heads. 

Gideon and Pacifica glance at each other, sharing a confused look on their faces. “Who’s visiting for everyone to gather around like this?” the eleven year old asks, jumping a little, knowing that there was no use in even trying. 

“The Pines Twins,” Wendy answers, looking at her phone, sounding unimpressed by everyone like she usually does. “Well… Pines Twins Junior. The youngest ones.” 

“What?” The cousins say in unison.

A slick black car slowly drives close to the crowd, the people separating to make space for the vehicle in what seemed fear and respect. But mostly fear. Pacifica turns to Gideon, putting the baggies of her shopping spree in the pocket of his jacket before saying, “Lemme climb on you.”

“What? No,” he says. “You’re heavy.” 

“I wanna see,” she says. “And you’re covered in mud anyways.” Gideon made a noise of annoyance before feeling his cousin climb up on him, slowly pushing herself up to see over the heads of the people. Her cousin groans in pain when he feels her kick a little to push herself a little more. “You owe me,” he said under his breath.

Pacifica didn’t catch what he said, instead she watched the car stop. It looked like the car itself could pay for someone’s rent for the rest of the year.  _ Who are these people?  _ She thinks to herself. The car door opened and she saw two figures emerging from inside. Where she was and the angle, she couldn’t see their faces, all she saw was the top of their heads. Dark brown hair that shimmered in the sunlight. And her eyes widened in awe when she saw white in their head. “What?” she says out loud but couldn't get a closer look, tumbling backwards when she lost her balance. She let out a short scream before landing hard in the mud that Gideon had landed in before. 

She groans, trying to flick the mud off of the sleeves of her baggy sweater. “Ugh,” she said and squeals when she feels herself being lifted by the back of her sweater by Soos to get her on her feet. 

“Who are these people anyways?” Pacifica asks, ignoring Gideon’s giggles. “Why are you treating them as if they’re royalty?” She began to walk away as the crowd slowly dissolved from the scene, seeming satisfied with whatever the hell the arrival of these people were. 

Soos finished his _ Large Sip  _ and threw it away. “But they are,” he said, confusing the kids even more.

“They’re the richest people in town,” Wendy adds, still looking at her phone, hair draped over her face like a curtain. “They can buy half the town if they wanted to.”

Gideon looks back at where the crowd and the car was before.  _ So that’s why they gathered around? To get a glance at the glitz? No wonder. _ He too would be curious if he had mysterious rich neighbors hiding out in the woods. Good thing he isn't the curious type of kid. Gideon would have looked in the other direction if he was ever in that situation. “Where do they get their money from?”

The handyman shrugs. “Dunno, dood. My  _ abuelita  _ said that they moved here a long time ago and that one of them was a scientist or something like that.” 

“I heard that the smart one sold weapons to the military,” the goth says, now looking up from her phone. The battery was close to dying, Pacifica says as she looks up at her and feels her face turn a little red. “And that the other one-- he has the best luck in the world and doubles up the money in Vegas.” 

“He should probably spare some of his luck to you,” Pacifica teases, elbowing her cousin in the arm who winced and rubbed it.

“I wouldn’t go near that house if you even paid me,” Wendy continues. “They got away with murder once.”

“What!” Gideon says, feeling his heart drop and stomach churn. He didn’t think he would live in the same town as murderers-- especially the types that got away with it. “How?” his voice quivering.

“They paid off the cops,” she whispers, like it was taboo. “Apparently they said that it was self defense since the perp broke into their cabin. But they didn’t face any charges.” She suddenly went quiet. The cousin’s eyes are trained on her, they can feel like she’s thinking something in her redhead brain. 

They were nearing the shop when Soos said: “But the younger twins are creepy.”

“Mad creepy,” the goth supports. “The girl, she reads you your tarot cards--”

“Oooh,” Pacifica says, spiking her interest. 

“And she reaches deep in your soul,” she continues. “They opened up a small tent for those who dared to step near that cabin. My ex got his cards read and he came out running, shaking like he was freezing.” She shivered a little at the memory.

Soos opens the door for them, the kids and the goth stepping inside of the shop and to the smell of grease and burnt pizza. “Dood, you think that the Pines are gonna open up that tent again?” he asks but no one got the chance to add in their thoughts when Uncle Jimmy walks in the shop, slamming the door open. 

“Are you telling them the story of that damn house?” he asks, dirty hands on his hips. “And what happened to both of you? Why are you dirty?”

“We fell in mud,” the cousins say in unison, looking down at their dirty clothes and shoes.    
  


Jimmy lets out a sigh, rubbing his face with a bit of irritation. “Go get in the shower, Kiddos. I have to talk to my employees.” His eyes narrowing on the goth and the handyman, the later let out a small whimper.

The kids sigh, dragging their feet as they walk away to slip through the door that separates the house and the shop. Gideon and Pacifica lean close, opening the door an inch or so to try and listen in. Despite him being their uncle, they knew almost nothing about him. Pacifica was told that he was just a shy anxious man who preferred to work on his cars in the middle of nowhere after serving time in the military. Gideon, however, heard his father argue with his mom the week before he was supposed to leave. His dad said something along the lines of  _ you’re going to trust him after he served time?  _ Mrs. Gleeful simply said:  _ He’s a changed man, Bud.  _ He knew that his uncle was in the military before fading away from any family event-- only meeting the man one Christman dinner before coming over for the summer. 

“What was the first thing I told you when they arrived?” Jimmy asks, sounding annoyed and disappointed. “To not let them go near that cabin.”

“We didn’t, Mister Gleeful,” Soos explains himself. “We were walking by when--”

Wendy interrupted with a barely audible whisper. Gideon can imagine her having her head down when she said: “They’re here. The Juniors are here.” 

There was a silence that dragged on a bit too uncomfortably and would have made Gideon sweat if he was able to. “This early?” Jimmy mumbles. “They usually come a month in. Alright,” he sighs. “You two better not let them near that cabin in the woods or else.” 

“Aye, aye,” Soos says cheerfully but somehow serious. 

“Whatever sure,” Wendy mumbles moodily. 

The cousins made their way up the stairs to their room in the attic, trying to be as silent as they could. The door creaks a little before closing it, the uneasiness in his stomach made him feel like he’ll throw up last night’s dinner somehow. “Did you hear that?” he whispers, watching Pacfica take off her shoes. “They don’t want us near that place.”

His cousin places the baggie of beads on her pink and yellow bed. “We should go then,” she says, the mud had dried and flakes of it gathered on her blue fluffy rug near her bed.    
  


His stomach drops alongside his jaw. “What!” he says in disbelief. It’s like she didn’t listen to a single word he just said. “If Uncle Jimmy doesn’t want us near that place there has to be a good reason.”

“What if he doesn’t?” she says, flinging her dark wet socks into the laundry basket. “We don’t even know if they’re as scary as people make them out to be. Maybe they’re just tortured and misunderstood by this town,” Pacifica fantasizes with a dreamy voice and a shimmer in her eyes. 

Gideon sighs. “Paci, this ain’t like your vampire novels. These are criminals. They got away with murder-- because of money!”

His cousin makes a noise, crossing her arms and pouting. “Maybe they’re really nice and this town just spread rumors because they’re jealous.”

He rolls his eyes. “Well I’m stayin’ as far away as I can from them the best I can,” he whispers. “I feel uncomfortable havin’ murderers or whatever those kids are live in the same town as us.” even if he didn’t manage to get a glimpse at the Pines Twins Juniors, something about them made him want to never walk into town so he can never cross paths with them. Especially if they’re rich enough to buy half of Gravity Falls like it was a candy bar. 

She stands up from the bed. “Well I’m heading off to the shower,” Pacifica says, walking like she didn’t just try to invoke some murderers to come and pay them a visit. He was a bit too superstitious to even try to think about them for too long. He didn’t want to manifest them to come for a visit. 

“What?” the eleven year old asks, snapping out of thinking about trying not to think about them. ‘“That’s not fair. I fell in the mud first.”

Pacifica pokes her tongue out at him. “You snooze, you lose, Cuzzo.” laughing, she leaves to go to the bathroom.

Gideon sighs, taking off his jacket to throw into the dirty laundry basket, the book that was in his pocket slipped out and it landed on the floor with a softer thud than this morning. It fell open to a page that he hadn’t read yet, the beginning of a chapter titled _ Demons of Sleep.  _

_ Well that ain’t a good sign _ , he thinks. And right next to the book, a twenty dollar bill flops out. 


	3. The Invitation

By the end of the week, Gideon had made a dent at the pile of books from the library. He had been stacking the books he was finished with on the table near the front door and was yelled at by his Uncle to return those after he tripped over the tipped over pile. He told Gideon that he didn’t want anyone to get hurt and didn’t want to pay any damages done by the person who tripped on said books. So he had to wake up early and drag a wagon stacked up with books to the town library. 

Pacifica was dragged along, munching on a strawberry flavored  _ Jump-Cake  _ as she dragged her feet on the sidewalk. “Why did we have to wake up so early just to go to the library?” she yawns, leaning over to offer a bite to Gideon, who takes it and chews on it. 

“Because I don’t wanna bump into people,” he says, munching. 

His cousin groans, still in her pyjamas, tired of him being a hermit. “You know you can make friends in this town,” she says. “Hang out at the library with other dweebs or something like that.”

He shakes his head, not looking at her, his focus locking onto the sidewalk in front of him like he was driving which is ridiculous since he’s far too anxious to even be in the front seat when his parents drive. Especially his mother. “I don’t want to get attached to anyone here,” he confessed. “At the end of the summer we have to leave.” 

Pacifica lets out an irritated sound. “It’s our first week here and you’re already obsessing on leaving. Can’t you stop and smell the roses for once in your life.” 

“No,” he says, the wagon bumping into the back of his legs. “Bees are attracted to roses. I don’t want to risk getting stung by one. I might be allergic.” This comment was surprisingly sarcastic. Especially coming from him. 

She didn’t get a chance to say something back about him being overly paranoid. He’s always been like this. She liked to joke that he was even scared to have been born and that he was terrified of being held by the doctors and nurses and that’s why he couldn’t stop crying. Gideon was absorbed by books and stories which led him to being even more scared of the world around him. Especially when you know the statistics of things that are more likely to happen. 

Gideon slips the books from his wagon into the slot to turn books in. Since it was early, the library hadn’t even gotten the chance to open, it being empty and bare inside. He looks inside into the dark building through the windows and sees the shelves upon shelves of books. Despite this being a small town, there were a couple of books and even some that he had never heard before.

Pacifica slaps a smiley face sticker onto the window. “There. To make it more pretty,” she said proudly.

“What? No,” he says. “This is public property but that can count as vandalism, Paci!” He tried to get the sticker off but it was already stuck. He groans before throwing his hands up in defeat. “Let’s… just get out of here before we get in trouble.” 

His cousin lets out a small cheer of triumph, happy to leave the boring library and to go back to bed. She climbs onto the now empty wagon and sits down in it. “Onward, my scallion!” she says, pointing at the direction they had to go to to head back to their uncle’s house.

He rolls his eyes. “It’s ‘stallion’, Paci. Not ‘scallion’,” he corrects her and was about to pull her on the wagon, too tired to try to convince her to get off of the wagon when he froze up.

Pacifica had gotten comfortable on the wagon when she noticed that all of the color had drained from his already pale face. Her eyebrows furrowed, confused in why he just stopped and looked like a deer in headlights. “What’s wrong?” she asks, starting to get a bit worried. 

Gideon slowly turns his head to look at her, his eyes wide with fear. “Don’t you feel that?” he speaks as if his throat might be closing. “We’re being watched,” he breaths out like it was the last sliver of air from his lungs.

She turns around, looking for any sign of a creep looking at them, ready to say something before running like hell while dragging Gideon along but she sees nothing. Pacifica’s eyes land on the opening where the path leads to the cabin in the woods. Since the Library was on a small hill, she was able to see the window on the second floor. It was a normal looking cabin, all wood and with an A-Shaped roof. It almost looked like a decent drawing of a house a kid made. Four figures dark shadow-like standing. There was almost no way to see if they were indeed looking at them but she could feel their eyes on them. Pacifica is more self aware than many people think, knowing that there are situations that were inappropriate for certain things and that staring was a rude thing to do-- and she had been guilty of doing that but at least she doesn’t do it anymore… as often. Here, she knows that she should be scared like her dear cousin but instead, a feeling peace washed over her. Like she was meant to be under those cold eyes. 

A grin grew across her face before waving at the shadows at the window, hopping up and down like a child and waiting for a sign that they saw her. Instead, the curtains were drawn shut and the figures walked away. “Huh,” she mumbles to herself. “That was rude. To go from being stared at to being ignored.” She lets out a sound of surprise when Gideon pulls on the wagon, hard and fast enough to knock her over a bit and almost hitting the sidewalk. She held onto the wagon, feeling her cousin was running and running like they were getting chased by some monster.

Pacifica almost flew off when she felt the wagon hit Gideon, tripping him and making him sit in the wagon alongside her. Because of the gravity from the hill, they were going down it. And fast. She felt the wind whip her hair back and the air brushing against her ears like a sharp whistle yet heard Gideon’s loud screaming as they went down faster and faster until the wagon slowed down enough for him to climb out of it, collapsing on the sidewalk. He was panting, taking in sharp breaths in and letting them fall out of his mouth. 

“What was that for?” she asks, climbing off the wagon to stand next to her slumped cousin. 

He didn’t answer after a few more sharp breaths, feeling his hands cold and shaking with his stomach boiling like he might throw up that one piece of Jump-Cake. “I don’t… don’t know!” his voice was cracking. Every single bone in him was on fire and his fingers were freezing like he was in the coldest pool of water but his muscles were hard and hot, begging him to start running while his legs felt like it was full of jelly and ants. 

Pacifica sits down next to him, her arm wrapping around him to put her head on his shoulder. “Let’s go home,” she whispers. “I’ll pull you on the wagon. I owe you.” She pats the back of his head softly, a sign of softness in her sharp friendliness and playfulness attitude she had. Her cousin nods, still shaking before climbing on to the wagon. She pulls on it, slowly walking back to Jimmy’s place, ignoring her stomach rumbling. As much as she wants to run to eat her Uncle’s chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream and rainbow sprinkles (and maybe a little bit of glitter), she needs to be the responsible one right this second. She knows when to calm down and help the hermit that her cousin is. He is, after all, the only family she can relate to. 

  
  
  
  


Gideon didn’t eat breakfast when they got back, feeling too sick in the stomach to even smell the food that Uncle Jimmy was cooking up. He didn’t know what happened back there, his whole body was frozen like he was a picture instead of a person and then he just  _ sprinted  _ and fell, riding the wagon down as if he was on a rollercoaster. He was never the sporty kind but there, he swore he could have run the mile in that moment with his heart beating the way it was. His stomach aches as he laid in his bed, feeling the sheet against his skin and it made him feel even more dizzy. Gideon curls into himself, closing his eyes in hopes to take a nap before his head might explode. With a single sigh leaving his mouth after he found his comfort, he fell asleep. 

  
  
  
  


The most surprising thing about Uncle Jimmy is that he’s a great cook. When Pacifica saw him when they arrived in town, him in his dirty overalls and greasy hands, she expected him to be a slob but it was a pleasant surprise when his house was mostly tidy. The wallpaper was a bit old and yellow but it wasn’t the worst thing she’s ever seen. On their first night here, he had made them a stew that initially Pacifica hated because who eats stew in Summer? But it was one of the best things she’s ever tasted-- and she’s been around California and Texas.

His cooking when it was breakfast time was just as good. The waffles were a mix of birthday cake and regular waffle mix and he added chocolate chips to make it more interesting. Pacifica was finishing her first waffle while her uncle made her the second one when Jimmy asks, “How’s your mom?”

She shrugs. “She’s okay. Mom is the only reason why I can’t get a cat so I’m trying to convince her to get me a white one.”

Jimmy puts whipped cream on the waffles. “Why a white cat? That’s specific,” he says while pouring some sprinkles on the cream. 

“So I can dye it,” she says, imagining her own little rainbow cat in her room. Maybe she’ll be able to put some of her hair clips on the cat like a doll. She smiles, pleased by the daydream as she hears the plate placed in front of her.    
  


Her uncle’s face was twisted in confusion. “I’m not sure that’s safe for the cat, sunshine,” he says. 

Pacifica shrugs before eating her waffle, spongy and warm with the chocolate already melting and feeling gooey against her tongue. She knew what her cousin said was probably right about growing attached to people in this town but this was Uncle Jimmy! She’s already grown attached to him but it didn’t matter to her. He was family so she’ll be able to see him and maybe he would cook her food. She never understood why her parents never talked about him. 

“Where’s Gideon?” he asks as he makes himself his own waffles, the same as Pacifica’s but instead of adding chocolate chips he would just have the sprinkles in the batter. “I didn’t see him when he came in.” 

She shrugs, taking a long gulp of her chocolate milk. “I think he’s taking a nap. He looked pretty freaked out when we went to the library.”

A look of confusion flashed across his face. “You went to the library? In the morning? While I slept?” 

Pacifica nods. “It’s Sunday. You deserve to sleep in.” She was halfway through her second waffle when she looked up at him. Uncle Jimmy was perhaps the most normal person in this town, even she can admit that the people around here act funny sometimes. But Jimmy was perhaps the weird one for not acting so strange. His beard was growing in, like he shaved the day before the kids came along to make a good impression. He had the same nose as her other uncle-- Gideon’s dad but was far more skinny and didn’t show a sign of being the older one. In fact, she thinks he might be the middle child. The forgotten child. 

“Uncle Jimmy,” she starts, finishing her chocolate milk and going to pour herself some more. “Why don’t you have kids?” She didn’t see how her uncle’s body tensed up at the question “Or why aren’t you married?” 

He sighs, placing his waffle on a plate before sitting down across from his niece. “Well… I just haven’t found the right person yet to get married to. I was in the army for so long that I didn’t even get the chance to talk to people in that way.” he explains, poking his breakfast. “I’m sorry you thought that you were going to have a cousin in this town.” She definitely wouldn’t have minded having an older cousin or even a younger cousin so she can braid their hair. 

Pacifica hums, “Well maybe I can set you up with some ladies in this town!” she suggests, sitting up on her knees on the chair to lean up over the table, excited to have a chance to set up someone. The last time she tried to set someone up, her teacher almost got a divorce. It was a weird day of school. 

Jimmy sighs again, rubbing his eyes. “Sunshine, that’s not necessary. I’m okay.”

“Awww,” she groans, disappointed before sitting right back in the chair correctly. 

There was a knock on the door. “That’s odd,” Uncle Jimmy says, standing up to answer the door. “It’s Sunday. No one gets mail on sunday.” Again, more knocking. It couldn’t be Soos since he always knocks first and then comes in and Wendy doesn’t come to work on Sunday. He was going to walk towards the door but his niece beat him to it. 

Pacifica jumps off of her chair before her uncle gets the chance to say anything, running towards the front door. She opened it up and it was indeed the mailman. “A letter for… Pacifica Northwest and Gideon Gleeful?”

The envelope was placed into her hands and the mailman who really didn’t look like a mailman and more of just a guy being told to send the letter left before she could close the door, walking away like he was in a hurry. She didn’t get the chance to say goodbye before her uncle closed the door for her. The letter looked fancy and expensive, and it even felt heavy in her hands. She opened it and the paper inside was a bright blue with the dark ink of a pricy fountain pen written with elegant handwriting. It even smelled expensive. 

She read it outloud: _ “We welcome both Gideon Gleeful and Pacifica Northwest to a night in the Pines’ Tent of Telepathy. Signed, the Pines’ Family.”  _

Stars grew in Pacifica’s eyes at the idea of sitting in a fancy tent and seeing so many wonderful things. Maybe they’ll do magic tricks or maybe read everyone’s future. Maybe it’s a musical! But all of her fantasies of having a great night in a mysterious, magical tent were popped like a bubble by her uncle taking the invitation from her hands. “Hey!” she said, looking up at Jimmy, reaching to try to get the envelope back.

He read it over and his eyebrows furrowed his eyebrows. “Absolutely not. Don’t even get your hopes up. You’re not going.”

“What?” she asks, confused and disappointed. “Why? It sounds like a lot of fun and we haven't gotten the chance to have fun here anyways.” She said, stomping her foot down on the carpet, standing her ground and being stubborn. “I’ve talked to everyone in this town except for that family. I don’t know what they look like.” Ever since the almost-sighting when they were in the crowd and them looking at her and Gideon by the window, she hasn’t spotten them around. She didn’t manage to see their faces either but she liked to imagine that they were all spooky but charming like those kinda classy made-for-teens vampire movies. 

“Listen to me, Pacifica,” Jimmy starts, waving a finger at her. “You stay away from the Pines. Nothing ever good comes from that family, you hear?” he said. 

Pacifica’s eyebrows furrowed, her face growing serious. “What’s so wrong with them anyways? You’re just like everyone here-- mean to them for no reason.” Her hands on her hips, staring up at him, challenging him.

Her uncle sighs harshly. “Everyone in that family is nothing but greedy, selfish, and… wicked. They’ll do everything to stay on top and money. That family is dangerous.” Jimmy looks down at the letter before ripping it in half. “Don’t you go near them, young lady. That’s an order.” He rips it half once again before throwing the four pieces into the trash can.

She pouts, huffing as she crosses her arms over her chest. “Fine!” she says loud as her uncle walks back into the kitchen. “Just know that this is losing you major Favorite Uncle points!” Pacifica looks at the ripped invitation that was in the trash can before picking them up to hide under her sweater. Whenever someone told her to not do something-- she’s going to do it. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  


_ In the darkness of his sleep, the only thing he saw was a dark room. No, it wasn’t a room. It was a study, filled with shelves of books from all around the world that held so much knowledge that he got dizzy with the thought of it. Maybe there were answers out there about what happened in the past, if the heavens were real or if maybe of what the future will bring. The answers that this young boy has been desiring.  _

_ A light slowly flickered on; a fireplace. Blue flames glow as it breaks the wood it was consuming, the cracking of ambers flies out into the room. No longer in the dark, he sees a man. A tall man with glasses in which it reflects the blue fire, staying near the destructive blue force, not fearing the power that it had. A confidence that only a man more powerful than that fire can hold. The man’s face was consumed by the shadows but he saw and felt that he looked like a man with a kind but cold, trustworthy face that made him melt in relaxation. _

_ A figure emerged from above the man’s head, a looming figure with sharp edges and a blue glow. Bright but dark, calm but chaos lingering underneath it’s surface. A single eye appears from this blue being, wide and all knowing. It’s iris looking up at the ceiling before it slowly drops to him. _

_ The eye above the man and the man himself was staring at him, the glint and reflection from the only light hides his irises before he picks up his hand, reaching out towards him before the skin glows blue. As blue as the being above him, looking down at him and at the man; guarding him.  _

  
  


Gideon wakes up, shivering and feeling his feet as cold as the river water that flows right outside of town. He huddled up under the blankets, his nose was freezing. Something about that dream made his whole body feel like a popsicle. If his body was a few more degrees lower, his teeth would have been chattering together. He can feel his mouth cool for some reason, as if he had swallowed a gulp of a cold winter’s day’s air in his mouth and trapped it behind his teeth. 

He coughs, slowly sitting up to wrap the blanket tighter around him, fingers so cold that they had turned numb. He wouldn’t be surprised if they started to turn blue. Gideon slowly lays back down, facing the wall as he closes his eyes, concentrating and thinking of ways to make his body warm. But his eyes would not open when he heard his cousin walk in, too silent before hopping onto her bed.

She was quiet; it worried him. But his vocal cords were icy and he wasn’t able to do anything except just slowly fall back asleep. Dark hands lulling him to sleep the same way a parent would do with their child. And he almost mistakes the familiarity. 

  
  
  
  


When he woke up, he was warmed up. His feet were still a bit cold but he was sure that if he started moving he would warm up right away. Sitting up, he sees that the sun was beginning to set due to the orange light coming in through the window. Stretching, he sees that his cousin wasn’t on her bed. Maybe she was helping with dinner. 

Gideon slips off the blanket off his shoulders, standing up to see something lying on her bed. He picks it up, four ripped pieces of thick heavy paper. He’s only seen this type of paper once and it was when his ‘friends’ brother got into a nice college. Curiosity got the best of him, sniffing the paper and a feeling of dread hitting him in the stomach like a punch. 

He coughs, looking at the paper before flipping it around. It reads:  _ We welcome both Gideon Gleeful and Pacifica Northwest to a night in the Pines’ Tent of Telepathy. Signed, the Pines’ Family. _

Instantly he drops the paper, his stomach dropping. They know where they live. They know where they sleep and they are asking them to come for a show. Every single alarm in his brain told him that this was a bad idea. If he was able to he would have left town and flown a place across the world by now. Something about that family was bad news.

He heads downstairs the fastest he could with cold feet (literally) and sees that his uncle was the only one in the kitchen. He coughs, “Have you seen Pacifica?” he asks, he croaks. 

Jimmy shakes his head, not turning around to look at his nephew. “Not since she came back downstairs and told me that she was going to get some stickers from the store. Why?” he asks. 

“... nothing.” he says quickly before looking around for his shoes but is stopped by his uncle when he asks him something that he never expected from him.

“Am I a good uncle?”

The question was strange since Gideon had never heard Jimmy doubt himself, always sure about something and even when he was wrong he was sure that he could do it with new knowledge. Gideon stares at him before saying, “Of course you are.” He leaves, not seeing his uncle looking down at the pan full with food, thinking things over before continuing to cook.

Gideon slips on his shoes before running out of the house through the garage, having a faint idea where his cousin was. 

  
  
  
  


He found her sitting down on a bench near Dusk2Dawn, sipping a machine drink while stuffing her face with N&N’s. It seemed like she already ate three packets of them. Chocolate stains around her mouth, munching on them as she stares at the pavement in front of her. 

Gideon sits down next to her, taking a bit of her chocolate. “You’re goin’ to ruin your dinner.” he said.

She didn’t answer, taking a sip of what he assumed was super-sweet lemonade and gummy worms inside. “I wanna do something,” she said. She was always outright with her feelings, never going around the bush. Frankly, Gideon always envied how blunt she was. 

“Okay...” he mumbles, letting her finish. 

Finally, she looks at him. “But I wanna do it with you,” she said. “I don’t wanna go and do it alone. I need… back up.”

He snorts. “What now? You wanna rob a bank.”

She shakes her head. “I wanna go to the Pines’ Family Show.”

Gideon felt his stomach drop and the color drained from his face. “... I think I’d rather rob the bank,” he mumbles, holding his head as if he might faint. 

“No. I want to go. Come on, Cuzzo! I want to meet everyone in this town. I’ve talked to everyone in this town at least once but them!”

“That’s impossible, you couldn’t have kept track,” he says but is interrupted by Pacifica taking out a list from her pocket which had everybody’s name, last name initial and age. Some even had their job description. “Oh.” 

She tucks the list back away after staring at it for a few seconds. “You’re obsessed with your little books and demon stories but I’m obsessed with people… I want to talk to people and know their stories and what they do. So someday, they will never be forgotten in my heart.”

Gideon sighs, rubbing his face. He knew that this was important to her but there was something about that family that was pulling and pushing him away. He groans, thinking and thinking. “Alright…” he mumbles. “I’ll go with you--” 

Pacifica giggles, letting out a loud cheer as she wraps her arms around him. Her cheek pressed against the top of his head, making him feel incredibly small and shorter than usual. “Thank you! You’re the best cousin in the world,” she says loudly. 

“But,” he adds, pulling away as it was hard to breathe with all of the hugging. “If we get in trouble,  _ you  _ are taking the blame. And then I can owe you like you owed me.” 

She nods, still smiling as she basically stands up and hops up and down with excitement. “Okay! I think we should sneak out after dinner, when Uncle Jimmy falls asleep in front of the TV.” Suddenly, she pulls in him. “Let’s head home so we don’t seem suspicious.” she pulls on him so that they can leave before letting go quickly, returning for her lemonade and N&N’s. 

And when the time came for them to sneak out, Gideon’s heart was beating so loudly that he was sure that it might wake his uncle up. He was sleeping in front of the TV, walking past him in tip toes before slowly opening the front door, leaving into the dark night where the only light that was visible was the moon. And Gideon can’t help but think that the moon felt like an eye. 


	4. The Pines Family Tent of Telepathy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magic can be cold sometimes

The town was always quiet when it was night time, the only thing that was heard whenever Gideon stayed up to finish up a book were the streetlights buzzing on and the crickets chirping. Yet, some nights, all that the night held was the darkness; and somehow that was a sound itself. Here, everyone seemed to just shut their blinds once the sky turned black and no one came out until the sun came up again.

It was so alien to him, nothing he’s seen before. Back in the small city in Texas he was from, a part where the skyscrapers have yet to take over and all of the little houses were worn down with age but in a classy way. Once the street lights turned on, the kids would go inside to drag their parents out to sit down on the porch to keep an eye on them as they played with everyone. They would stand by, waiting for a car to pass by whenever someone drove down that street. It was a small community where everyone can sit down and talk while sipping on sweet tea to gossip, the only sound besides them being the cicadas singing in the trees and the neighborhood kids kicking a ball around while laughing. It was a community that Gideon was a stranger to. 

He never fitted in. All of them made fun of his soft cheeks and softer tummy, never letting him play until Gideon had accepted that it was best for him to just stay inside and read. He accepted his role as the outsider. Never once did he have friends, the only true one being Pacifica whose parents owned a house right behind Gideon’s and come to stay whenever they’re done working in California. But Pacifica was family. It hardly counts. The only interaction he ever had with people his age was whenever his parent’s friend’s kids came over and they only sat in his room playing video games, not even looking at him. He didn’t really mind it at that point anyways. 

Pacifica was taking large steps, dragging her cousin along with a bright smile that she was basically a glow stick. “I think they’re going to be a magic act,” she therorizes out loud, looking up as they pass under the streetlights. “I can’t wait. Maybe they’ll read our palms or… maybe one of them can saw us in half! Have I mentioned that I can’t wait?” she rambles on.

At this point he had started to regret this. This was definitely a bad idea. Uncle Jimmy told them to stay as far away from them for a reason, right? There’s a reason for everything after all. And he trusted him. Gideon was never the type to question the rules, the rules were there for a reason and it was to protect them. His cousin was the rebellious type, following her heart as she sees that the word of someone wasn’t enough for her to just sit by-- she needed to experience it. No matter how much she gets hurt. Both physically and emotionally. 

This was a brash decision, going on adventures was something he didn’t want to be a part of. But he supposes that it’s best to follow his cousin around just in case something happens. He couldn’t bear to think what he would do if something terrible would occur. Despite the obvious height difference, he will try to protect her at any cost. 

  
  


“There needs to be a reason why people don’t trust that family,” he mumbles. “No one starts hatin’ a family over somethin’ small.”

“I think people are just jealous of them,” Pacifica defends. “I think they’ll be lovely people.”

Gideon gasps, looking down at the concrete when he thinks of something. “What if they’re cannibals?” He shudders at the idea and can imagine a family sitting around the table as they eat the cooked flesh of a man like it was some exotic meat. He gulps when he imagines his head in the middle of the table as they begin to poke around in his brain, deciding what part to eat first. 

Pacifica scoffs and laughs. “They’re not cannibals, Cuzzo. They’re just normal, really rich people.”

As they near the spot of town they were so warned to stay away from, they start to see that they weren’t the only ones who thought of attending this show. It was mostly teenagers gathered around the front of a very large, light blue tent. Pacifica stares up at it in awe, her mouth open with the fascination of how large and fancy it looked. It seemed to glitter in the moonlight. Gideon sinks down behind her, hiding as he stares at the family symbol that is at the tall point of the tent: a shiny sapphire orb with a single white eye in the center and it felt like it was following him around anytime he moved. 

“Pacifica?” someone behind them says and the cousins turn around to see another teenager. 

He was tall and thin with long-ish black hair, his chin and cheeks had a bit of acne. His bright green flannel fitted him like it was made for him but it was a bit worn out, as if he wore it everyday. 

She beams at him. “Robbie!” She quickly makes her way to hug him. “You’re coming to the show?” she asks him, pulling away from hugging his legs. He was taller with that straight, military-like posture. 

He nods, ruffling her hair a bit. “Yeah. Me and my friends came to see the show. Last summer we couldn’t watch the… show. For reason.” His face turns a little pink as he rubs the back of his neck, he looks down at his extremely clean shoes. 

“Did you get an invitation too?” she asks. 

Robbie’s eyebrows furrow, confused as he shakes his head. “No. It’s usually just a show where anyone can come-- if you’re brave enough,” he said the last part in a spooky voice. “That’s why it’s usually us coming since all of the adults don’t like this family.”

“Why?” Gideon finally spoke up. He had been hiding behind his cousin while she spoke to this person as if they’ve been close friends for years-- a confidence that he will know. 

His eyes drop to look at his, eyebrows shooting down in surprise. “You are…?”   
  


“Oh! This is my cousin Gideon,” Pacifica said, moving aside so he can see her little cousin completely. “He’s a bit shy so that’s why you haven’t seen him around.” Gideon smiles at him awkwardly, waving a bit.

Robbie nods. “Well any friend… er, cousin of Paz is a friend of mine,” he says, waving back and Gideon managed to see that he was wearing a beaded bracelet, like the type that his cousin makes. Huh, they are good friends. “Oh! My friends are calling me. I gotta go. The show is going to start soon.” He smiles as it was a kind smile that made him seem so much nicer than Gideon expected, genuine and honest. “It was nice meeting you, Gideon. See you around, Paci.”He walks away, heading towards a group of teens waving at him to come over. 

“I think she should go in,” Pacifica said, waving at Robbie’s friends too. “Gosh, I’m so excited!” She hops, pulling him along into the tent, Gideon looking up at the sapphire orb, seeing that the eye was watching him go into the tent. All he can do is swallow nervously as they walk into the lion's den. 

Inside there were fancy and expensive looking strips of fabric that hung from the wooden skeleton of the tent. From the small frames that were lit in the entrance and the two out front right under the large stage, the fancy fabric shimmered like the pieces of sun caught on the ocean’s water. The black velvet curtains were closed shut. It was both simple and extravagant, it was the small details where you can see the family’s fortune peak through. Perhaps the only reason why it seemed simple was to not push away those who would feel alienated by the sight of wealth, explaining the simple yet nice metal chairs people were going to sit in. Almost all was a slick black and then that shade of blue that Gideon had started to associate with the family itself. But the thing that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up straight like a cartoon cat being startled was the family crest. It was the same as the one on top of the tent. 

The triangle with the eye inside of a circle seemed to be riddled with this symbol. It was on the stage, painted with a glossy finish as it seemed to stare up at the heavens itself. 

Pacifica dragged him towards the front, sitting right near the stage where they can have the best view. Something about sitting so close and being near the members of this family made Gideon sick to his stomach and immediately regrets his decision to come along. He should have tried to convince her to listen to their uncle but  _ nooo  _ he had to be a good, supportive cousin instead. 

More and more people sat down, some whispering to each other. Most of them went on about how this was one of the only times where the family is seen, they went on about how they were so secretive that many assumed that they were part of some sort of illegal activity. Some teenagers joked about how maybe they’re a cult and that this was a way to get people to join. Gideon gulps silently. A lot of people in town took this as an excuse to get near the house to take pictures. It seemed like the cabin in the woods was a popular attraction in town, trying to see who can get the closest without getting caught. Apparently, that’s how the Perp that got killed by the family died-- he went a little too close.

The show was about to start and the entrance was closed once people stopped coming in. He turned around to see that there were some people here and there-- it wasn’t packed but a couple of familiar faces sat along mostly the back and the middle. No one but Gideon and Pacifica sat in the front row and the row behind them was also completely empty. 

A shiver went up his spine, like he was hit with a freezing cold breeze out of nowhere. He rubs his nose, it was colder than he expected. “Aren’t you cold?” he leans over to whisper to his cousin with a shudder.

She stares at him with a confused look, shaking her head. “No? It’s like 80 degrees right now,” she said. “Oh the show is starting.” Pacifica turns to look at the stage and Gideon feels ill. 

The blue flames seemed to dim a bit. The curtain opens slowly and the spotlight landed on one person who stands in the middle of the stage. A young boy who seemed to be around the same age as Pacifica. He wore black trouser pants with a bright blue button down tucked in neatly alongside a vest hugging him tightly. All seemed so elegant and color coordinated. The blue matched the color of the tent and the sapphire orb that Gideon would glance back at every once in a while. His hair was brown, normal looking until he saw something that made him think he was seeing things. There was white in the boy’s brown hair. White strands that looked like someone dyed but something told Gideon that that wasn’t the case. 

The boy looks at the crowd with a kind smile, walking down the stage and closer to the audience where the flick of wrist made a fancy, old fashioned magician top hat appear. Some of the people in the crowd let out a small oooh at the neat trick. Gideon rubs his nose and feels something wet but he ignores it. 

“Welcome to The Pines’ Family Tent of Telepathy,” he said and his voice was far softer and kinder than Gideon expected it to be. Granted he didn’t know what to expect at this point. “I hope that all of those who came will enjoy the show.” He bows and the strands of white hair shines under the stage lights that seemed to be coming out of nowhere. 

The Boy looks into the hat, shaking it as if he’s expecting something to come out of it. He flips it around and pats it and a few cards come flopping out, falling at his feet. Flashing an awkward grin at the audience before saying, “Sorry, folks. Let me pick that up.” With another flick of his wrist, the cards went flying up into his hand in a neat pile. The crowd lets out a noise of interest and Gideon would be lying if he said that he wasn’t impressed. He’s read some books about magic when he was a bit younger but he never seen this type of trick before. This seemed far more advanced. “That’s better,” the Young Magician said. He then shuffled the cards after flipping the hat onto his head. His hands moved the cards with quick expertise and it was impressive; he’s done it many times. 

Then the Young Magician takes off his hat again and slips the deck of cards back inside of his hat and shakes it around like he’s mixing up the cards to choose one randomly. “My apologies, folks. But I’m getting a bit lonely up here on this stage. I’ll call up some company.” He shakes the hat once more before dumping the cards out of his hat. Stacks and stacks of cards come flooding out and from that flood, once the hat seems empty, a Girl appears from behind that wall of cards. 

The Girl grins at the audience, happy to make an entrance. She wore the same thing as the Young Magician except she had a black skirt and long white socks with black flats. The wide smile that she had on her face made Pacifica’s heart skip a beat.  _ Braces _ , she thinks when she sees things shimmering on her teeth. 

“Please welcome my dear twin sister,” the Young Magician says as he takes her hand to bow together. 

Now Gideon can see why Wendy said that they were creepy. They looked almost identical. The Girl even had the same amount of white strands of hair as her brother. Almost carbon copies of each other. They move in sync as if they were both puppets controlled by the same puppetmaster. 

The audience claps, impressed. It almost felt like real magic, Gideon speculates as he rubs his nose again. 

The Young Magician takes a fresh new desk from the inside of his vest, shuffling again. “Now for this trick I need a volunteer.” The spotlights began to move around on the audience and Pacifica was basically shaking with excitement, wanting to go on stage. She raises her arm as if that would do anything for the light to drop on her. Instead, it landed on someone in the far back. It was Lazy Susan from  _ Greasy’s Diner.  _ She was one of the few adults who came to see the show and she stands up, nervous to be called up on stage. 

People clapped at her as she slowly walks up, taking the Sister’s hand as she walks up the side steps to the stage. Susan waves at the audience as someone cheers for her. The Young Magician was done shuffling the new deck of cards. “Choose a card,” he says as he spreads the cards, upside down in his hands for her to pick one. “When you choose it, show it to the audience while I look away. Got it?” he says, his tone of voice was almost belittling. 

Susan picked one card from the left corner of the spread, the Young Magician was looking at the back wall and Gideon can even see that he had his eyes squeezed shut so this seemed a bit more authentic. She showed the crowd the card-- an  _ Ace of Spades _ . “Now return it to the deck, ma’am,” he says and she does. He shuffled the card once more before picking one from the center of the deck.

He picked it up and showed it to the crowd. “Was this her card?” he asked the crowd and there were several  _ no’s _ . The card that he chose was the Joker. He flipped it to look at it. “Oh I see,” he says before laying the card flat in his fingers and lets out a breath. But instead of a small blow of air, bright blue fire filled the room. The flames were large like the fire breathing of a dragon. 

The crowd lets out a noise of surprise and there was a small scream from the back where Susan was sitting. Gideon shrinks down into his body, trying to move away from the bright flames as he was closer to it more than most people. The fire slowly dissolved and the whipping tips of the blaze transformed into cerulean butterflies that fly up amongst the crowd. 

Pacifica lets out a small  _ ooh  _ as one comes near her and reaches over to poke it but disappears at her touch, like trying to catch the smoke from a fire when she was younger. Gideon blew at the smoke butterfly that began to inch closer and closer to his face and he was lucky that it melted away into the air around him. He lets out a sigh of relief, rubbing his nose again and feeling fingers so cold that he flinched. 

The Young Magician showed the card that was still on his fingers, not burnt to a crisp from the flame that grazed over it. “Is this your card?” he asks once again and Susan lets out a noise of surprise before nodding. The Ace of Spades was in his hands and there were some clapping. Gideon was one of the people clapping yet he couldn’t help but feel like something in that trick felt wrong. Too real. Too dangerous. 

He hands Susan the card that she picked out. “A round of applause for our lovely waitress Susan,” he says as he takes her hand so that they can bow together. The waitress giggles as she bows before taking the Sister’s hand to help her down the steps off the stage while the audience claps. Pacifica waves at Susan as she walks by her to go back to her seat. 

The Sister slowly takes something from her vest, pulling it out. A bright blue handkerchief that matched the whole scheme. It made Gideon a little uncomfortable with how uniformed everything was. No sign of originality and showing the difference between the two twins besides their hair length and the same shade of blue bow on the Girl’s hair. It unified them together to the family name. 

She began waving it a little to the crowd with a small smile the same way women would wave it to a passing ship. A strange expression grew on her face before sneezing into the piece of cloth, vanishing in a puff of black smoke and blue glitter. 

It made both Pacifica and Gideon flinch, not expecting to do that at all. Everyone looked around for her and their eyes were drawn back to the stage when they heard a small giggle. She was sitting on the table that was at the other end of the stage, she waved again with the handkerchief before tucking it back again in her vest. She stands up on the table before throwing a black roll of cloth which her brother caught with ease. 

Gideon couldn’t help but imagine how long they’ve been doing this to be in complete sync. Picking up the cues as if they were able to read each other’s minds. He’s never met twins prior to this, them being almost a rare sighting in his town but he still was able to read about them and how some seemed to experience ESP which he found both creepy and fascinating. 

“For this next trick,” the Young Magician starts as he opens up the black roll and something shiny reflects the light in the tent. “Don’t try this at home.” He pulls something out of it, sharp and dangerously polished. 

The eleven year old’s stomach dropped when he realized that they were knives. He gulps at sight of them and even feels sick. Gideon was the type to faint at the sight of too much blood and needles but kids his age playing with knives made his brain wander in what type of family let this happen and if they themselves were as hazardous as them. 

The Young Magician flips the knives in his hand, catching them with trained expertise before tossing it at his sister. Everyone gasps and someone lets out a small scream. But the Sister was able to catch it by the handle, inches from her face, without a flinch. She throws it back at her brother who snatched it from the air with the same speed and ease as her. 

At this point, Gideon was shivering and rubbing his nose every once in a while. He pulled on his vest, trying to stay warm. He glanced up at his cousin, who was captivated by the show alongside the whole audience. It was impressive yet he couldn’t enjoy it much when he was freezing and feeling like he was being watched by the single eye that was all around him. 

With the wave of her hand, the Sister made an apple appear which seemed to levitate into her palm with a bright blue around it. She placed it on her head and Gideon got a clue in which direction this was going, making his pale face a shade of green. 

Flicking the knife at her, the knife went through the crisp apple, piercing it as it was stabbed into the wooden beam behind her. She ducks her head and grins at the audience before pulling it out, casual and no sign of struggle. She hops off of the table, landing on her feet and seemed to glide down to the floor on the tip of her flats, Pacifica staring at her with stars in her eyes and filled to the brim with wonder and amazement. 

Stabbing the knife into the table, the apple’s juice rolling down the blade softly, she took a step closer towards the edge of the stage. And another. And another and Gideon knew what she was going to do, his blood running cold as she leaped into the air and into the spot where no one sat. Time seems to slow as she lets herself fall, looking like a bird with her arms spread to her side. All Pacifica can do is stare as she gets closer and closer to the ground. And right in the moment she was supposed to hit the ground to experience a painful drop, she was suspended a few inches above the ground.

The cousins and alongside the rest of the people in the tent gasped, gaping at them with wide eyes and looking like a school of fish out of water. The Sister twisted on her back, still in the air and seemed to be getting higher and higher until she was floating above their heads. She crossed her arms under her head and crossed her left leg over the other, bouncing the one that was propped up as if she was laying on the bed relaxing. 

Gideon had to rub his eyes to make sure that he wasn’t imagining things. He’s seen his fair share of levitation tricks that magicians perform on TV but never like this. This seemed… too real. 

She slowly floats towards the edge of the stage where she had jumped from and lands on her feet like a cat leaping out a car with stealth. She turns around with an overly cheery smile on her face that seemed a bit too forced. Which made Gideon uncomfortable; he rubbed his nose again, feeling something wet but ignored it. Far too invested and confused, wanting answers in how any of this was possible. Fire breathing tricks that finished with butterfly-shape smoke blobs, catching knives in mid air, levitation that seemed too real and too high for it to be invisible strings. Something wasn’t adding up. This felt too real and it made him anxious. 

The crowd claps and some people stand up, expecting this to be the end of the show. But no. Not yet it seemed. They sat back down quickly as the Sister placed her hands on her hips, making a sound of thinking as her twin brother stood next to her. “We need another volunteer for this trick,” she said and Gideon realized that this was the first time she’s ever spoken since she’s taken the stage. Her voice was far more surprising than her brother-- it was sweet and even soft with a cheerful undertone. The same pep to her voice a hopeless romantic would have. And Gideon realizes that her and Pacifica would be great friends.  _ Perhaps this is just an act,  _ he thinks and he glanced back at his cousin who was head over heels for this show.

The Sister takes the Young Magician’s hand, standing like they owned the town. And there was a small glint in their eyes which made it seem that they think they do. Their glance bounced around, looking at every single person in the audience. Gideon’s heart dropped when their eyes locked with his-- the seconds felt like an internaty as those four clever eyes pierce through his soul like an icicle. Their eyes then land on someone a few rows back and the spotlight lands on. 

He strains his neck to see that it was Toby Determined. He ran the semi-successful gossip newspaper which was mostly just exaggerations that people laughed off because of the ridiculousness. He must have been here to write about the show. The light had landed on him and he was in the middle of taking notes, he looked around, confused and shocked that they had decided on him. 

Everyone expected him to get out of his seat and walk towards the stage like Susan before him but instead, he began to float  _ off  _ his seat. Toby lets out a yelp, looking down as he begins to levitate towards the stage, landing on it with a thud before being helped up by the Brother-Sister Magic Duo. “Folks, have you ever heard of hypnosis?” the Young Magician asks, pushing the journalist towards his sister to sit him on the table where she had leaped from. He looked around, confused and seemed to be even scared of these children. “It is a state in which the person under it apparently loses the power of voluntary action.” He explains as he walks towards the ‘volunteer’ with long and confident steps. 

In this light, Gideon sees something on his forehead and squints at it as he tries to decipher what it was. The Young Magician’s white-and-brown hair caught most of his attention, not noticing the mark on his forehead. 

The Sister lays a hand on the Journalist’s shoulder before her brother slaps his own on the other shoulder. “Watch the wonders of hypnosis,” he said, leaning close to the quivering Journalist’s face alongside his sister, they whisper something into both his ears.

Toby’s body tenses up for a second before he began to shake, like he was having a heart attack and he didn’t know what to do with his body next before he went completely still, bending over and melting into himself. His body was almost like a puppet with the strings yet to be pulled on. 

Gideon’s eyes widened, amazed and terrified that these kids his age were able to do this to a man with only a whisper. He watched as the children stepped away from the limp man, holding each other’s hand. “Stand up, Toby,” the Young Magician said.

Everyone gasps when the body slowly stands up from the table, his thin legs wobbling a little to hold himself up in such a melted position. “Stand up straight, Toby,” the Sister says and the body of the Journalist quickly lifts up his head to have better posture, his shoulders were a bit slumped and there was a terrifying look on his face. His mouth was agape, jaw loose and his eyes were both empty and full with a blue pulsing energy that made Gideon’s soul run cold for some reason. 

“Tell us something that no one knows about you,” the Brother said-- no, he ordered. He said with an authority that made everyone uncomfortable. In their moment of enjoying the show, the glitz and glamour of having these children performing their magic tricks, smiling at them the same way any normal child should make them forget that these kids are not what they seemed. That they come from the same family as the one that hides out in the woods and have so much power to have everyone under their thumbs, pressing down on every single person in this town and threatening to end them but stops; they show them mercy. The Pines’ Family should not be trusted-- no matter how flashy and adorable the children were. Because anyone here can be in the same position as Toby Determined. 

The Journalist’s head loll onto his shoulder before he mouth moved to say: “I still call my mother ‘Mommy’ and like it when she calls me her ‘little boy.’” The children laugh, hands linked together and Gideon squints when he sees that their joint hands were glowing a faint blue. His teeth started to chatter, fingers so numb that he’s convinced that he had frostbite. 

“Stand by the edge of the stage,” the Young Magician instructs. Toby’s feet move, not walking straight as he places a foot and another in front of each other before he stands where he was told to stand, his shoulders still slumped and his head thrown back lazily. A brainless zombie like those in the old films that Gideon had watched. He stood there, the tip of his shoes were just over the edge. 

The Sister giggled and it made almost everyone uneasy-- everyone but Pacifica, who was staring at the show with wide eyes, sitting at the edge of her seat, waiting to see what will happen next. She doesn’t feel the uneasiness that everyone is feeling around her. In her head, all of this was staged and real. A paradox that any kid would understand and make an adult dizzy. “Take a bite out of your notepad,” she says, her voice far more calming than her brother’s but still held an authoritarian feel in it.

Toby’s hand goes to fish the notepad out of his pocket and proceeds to take a bit out of it like it was a sandwich, pulling his head away and some of the paper ripped, a clump in between his teeth and the ink was staining his face. “Swallow it,” the Twins said in unison.

Gideon slaps a hand over his mouth, feeling something wet on his numb fingertips but too entranced and horrified by the sight of the Journalist chewing the paper in his mouth before eating it, his mouth hanging open, showing that he had indeed swallowed the paper. The eleven year olds eyes widen, glancing at the Twins and then back at the Journalist. There’s only one way that this can go and it’s South. 

“Jump,” the both said.

Everyone gasps as they watch Toby’s arms lift to his side the, the same way the Sister was ready to jump like before him but this was terrifying. He had no control of his body, an empty puppet doing as he was told. He leaned over the edge more and more until his body got so heavy that gravity had to pull him down towards the ground before him. 

There were sounds of surprise and horror as he fell closer and closer to the ground but this time, the empty expression on his face made it far more terrifying than the Sister’s fall. Then, when Gideon expected Toby to eat dirt, his nose was touching the ground but he was floating. His body was completely limp, bending over in himself as he hung up in the air over everyone’s head before being put down on back on the table where he was forced to sit down at. The twins were standing there, waiting for him. One standing on each side he sits, holding him up to whisper something in his ear again. 

Toby yelps away, sitting up straight and looks around with a panicked and confused look on his face. He looks at the twins before standing up, letting out a blood curdling shriek before he scampers to leave the stage. Tripping a little as he goes down the stage stairs, running down the aisle to leave the tent. Everyone’s heads follow him as he leaves before their head whips back towards the stage where the Twins stand before slowly bowing their heads, the Sister does a curtsy. All was silent as they stayed there, waiting. 

Something about that made people realize that this was the end of the show. Scattered aplouses filled the tent, some people stood up for good measure. There were looks of being both impressed by the show and how realistic it was and a look of fear that it was too realistic.

Gideon stood up, clapping as the stares at the Twins lifted up their heads, waving at the audience they had shaken to the core with this convincing act. It didn’t feel like an act to this eleven year old. His head was pulsing, his body was freezing and his nose was wet. 

As the curtains close, Gideon catches the pleased wicked looks on the siblings faces, a glint in their eyes and on their teeth was almost animalistic-- beastly. The lights turn on and when he turns around to leave, the people in the row behind them gasp at his face. Gideon touches his face again and sees red. Blood. Blood dripped from his nose with his heart pulsing in his ears. His vision blurs as he hits the ground. 


	5. Backstage Access

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tarot cards and hand scars.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A friend told me that the title of the chapter sounded dirty.

When his vision came back, his mouth was dry and cold. Through his eyelashes he could imagine his breath the same way those southern winters feel-- sharp and around the edges that no matter how hard you cover up, the cold sinks and leaves you shivering. Gideon flinches away when he feels something rubbing across his face, eyes fluttering open. It was the sight of familiar eyeliner and eyeshadow surrounded eyes is what he woke up to. 

“Wendy?” he mumbles, his throat sore for some reason. He could see that she was trying to hide the look of concern on her face but he could see it with her lips pressed tightly together. 

“Jesus, Kid,” she says, hitting his shoulder lightly. “You scared us.”

Gideon looks around and he sees that he’s sitting inside of a truck that he recognized as hers. He’s seen it parked out in front of the shop whenever she’s at work. Groaning, he sits up, his head was a bit sore, holding the side of it. “What happened?” he mumbles. The truck door was open and he was sitting in the passenger seat as Wendy was crouched to be at his level, a towel covered in red in her hand. 

“You got a nose bleed and passed out, man,” she explains, throwing the towel past him and into the backseats.

His memory came back the same way someone pulling the blanket away from them when they’re sleeping in the same bed: sudden and hard. The eleven year old rubs his forehead. The blue fire, the smoke butterflies, turning Toby into a zombie and those Twins pulling on the string between him being in pain and his well being. 

He looks up at the goth teen. “Where’s Pacifica?” he asks, getting worried and trying to pull away to get out of the truck to go and look for her. “I… I came to the show with her and--and…”

Wendy pushed him softly back into the truck so he could sit back down. “She’s alright. She went with Robbie to get you some water.”

Gideon continues to rub his face, his head pulsing. Suddenly he remembered what she said before, what she said as a warning and her excuse; her explanation. “What are you doin’ here? I thought you said you’ll never come near this place,” he recalls. The memory of how her face was when she swore to never come close to this area fresh in his brain. 

A cold breeze hit him in the face and made the teens’ red hair stand up a little. Her eyes drop on the ground before looking up at him. “I came here to pick my ex and his friends up,” she explained. “It was just a quick favor. In and out,” Wendy snaps her fingers to emphasize the point. He could tell that she was uneasy being this close to the Tent and the Cabin but she was here for him as they waited. 

“Gideon!” Pacifica’s voice rang and he didn’t get the chance to look at where her voice came from before she wraps her arms around to squeeze him into a hug.

The eleven year old let out a huff as his cousin was squeezing him, feeling a little lightheaded by how tightly she was hugging him. She pulls away and he can tell that she was crying; red rimmed her eyes and the glittery eyeshadow that she smudges on her eyelids with her finger was running a little. “You’re okay!” she said, shaking him a little. 

He nodded and she pressed a bottle of water into his hand. “Here, drink it,” Pacifica basically begs and seemed like she was close to crying again. 

Gulping down half of the bottle in one go, he feels it hit his stomach and the urge of throwing up fills him. He groaned as he placed the bottle away. A warm hand was pressed against his forehead and he didn’t recognize it. It wasn’t Pacifica’s small ones or Wendy’s cool, thin ones. He looks up and sees that it was the guy that waved at his cousin right before the show started.  _ Robbie was it? _ He thinks but didn’t say anything as he pressed his hand across his cheek to check his temperature. “He’s okay,” he said, pulling his hand away. “Maybe he just overheated a little.” 

Gideon wanted to shake his head and deny this. His whole body was freezing in that tent, feeling as if he was being consumed by a crowd of snowmen.

“He should rest a little before heading home,” Robbie says, whipping his hand on his teal flannel. It had no wrinkles and his long black hair was pushed back being his ears in a cowlick sort of way. 

Pacifica nods and hugs the teens legs again to thank him and is met with him petting her blonde hair with a small chuckle. The type of chuckle that comes when someone coos at something adorable. 

“It’s a miracle you stayed along to help,” Wendy mumbles, leaning against her truck with her arms crossed. 

And Robbie pulls away from the small blondes’ grasp. “They’re kids, Corduroy,” he states. “They needed help. You stayed to help too, you know,” he said as he waved a finger at her.

All she did was push his hand away and mumbles something under her breath that sounded like  _ Coward _ . She then looks back at the pair of cousins with a serious face, both disappointed and worried. “And what were you two doing here? Didn’t me, Soos and your uncle specifically told you kids to stay away from this place?” she scolds, eyebrows furrowed and black lipstick mouth pressed into a tight line. 

Pacifica gulps, pulling Gideon close. “We didn’t think this was gonna happen. We-- we were invited anyways!”

Wendy’s expression was wiped off of her face, anger was replaced by shock. Robbie expressed the same thing after letting a small gasp, holding his chest like an old Southern woman after hearing some sort of profanity.

It seemed that it took a lot for both of the teens to process this, glancing at each other and then back at the cousins. “You were… invited? By the Pines?” she asks, talking slowly as if she was trying to grasp the concept. 

Pacifica nods, taking the invitation that was previously ripped and now was being held together by neon green tape. She hands it to the teens, who inspect the invitation with puzzled expressions. 

“It came in the mail this mornin’,” Gideon explains, sitting up a little as he held his stomach. “It was addressed to just us.” 

Robbie returned the invitation back to the kids as Wendy’s face expressed too many emotions that it made Gideon dizzy. Anger, worry and horror were the main three. A horror that came from watching a gory movie and it made you skin crawl and stomach churn in disgust. 

The cousins stare at each other, confused by how this simple piece of paper had affected these two. And how there was too much hostility towards them from their uncle because of it. 

The gothic teen’s mouth opens a little, as if she was trying to speak something but the words were caught in her throat and instead all that came out were half formed vowels. She was interrupted by someone yelling behind them. 

“Evelyn!” a girl yelled. “Evelyn, come here, you little shit!” The person who was yelling came towards them, grabbing Robbie by the shoulders. “Robbie, baby. You gotta help me,” she said, shaking him a little, sounding desperate. 

“What’s the matter?” he asks, holding the hand that was on his shoulder. 

“My little sister. I can’t find her!” she speaks, her voice shaking a little. “I turned my back for a second and she went off running. She couldn’t have gone too far.” her voice cracked. Then, her eyes landed on Wendy, who had her arms crossed and her shoulders up as she slouched a little. “Hi… Wendy,” she greets, awkward with a forced smile.

The redhead lets out a hum. “Tambry,” she mumbles, looking around to barely acknowledge the other teen with purple highlights.

“I’ll help you find your sister, babe,” Robbie says, trying to cut the tension between the two teenage girls by making one of them look at him. “Come on. Let's go,” he says as he reaches to hold her hand. He turned back at the cousins, who recognized that the tension here was thick enough to cut with a knife quite easily. “You two stay put. I’ll be right back.” Robbie pulls on Tambry’s hand to get her to stop glaring at Wendy. 

“Evelyn!” he yells out as he walks away from the truck. 

And the moment the two were far enough, Wendy turned to walk towards the back tire of her truck and began to kick it. Her hands were balled up into fists, kicking as hard as she could that the truck started to jerk back and forth. Her thick heavy black boots were already scratched up and dirty but they were surely going to bust after this. The cousins have never seen her so angry, she was furious it seemed. Her cheeks were bright red, as red as her hair and she seemed like she might even faint from her fury. Then she stopped. Her calmness came the same way her wrath did-- quick and hard. She placed her head on her truck, forehead against the cool metal as she covered her face with her shaking hands with trembling shoulders of a calming rage, taking in deep breaths. 

The cousins stare at each other, shaken by seeing the person they have seen so calm and aloof breakdown in front of them. It was a sight that made Pacifica squeeze Gideon tightly, slightly worried and frightened but she was more occupied with caring for her cousin. After all, she owed him one. 

She squeezed him once. “How you feeling, Cuzzo?” she mumbles, pressing her check against the sleeve of his shirt and the puffy vest was scratching her cheekbone lightly.

Gideon rubs his forehead. “Terrible,” he confesses, mumbles. “There was something odd about that tent.” He said as he glanced up to see it still up, the front flaps closed to show that the first and last and only show for this year was over. He wouldn’t be surprised if by the next morning the Tent would be gone like nothing ever happened and it would be like a myth in this town the same way this family was. 

Pacifica blows a raspberry and sits up. “It was just a magic show, Cuzzo,” she shrugs. “It was great!” she compliments with a grin. 

“Too great,” he grumbles as he rubs his nose and he sees that only a little of dry blood flaked off onto his finger. 

“Gideon… don’t tell me you think that they have actual magic?” she says, hopping out of the truck to stand in front of him, her hands on her hips and staring at her cousin with a raised eyebrow. “Out of everyone I thought you would see that they were just professionals.”

She’s right, he thinks as he shrugs. He was never to believe in the supernatural easily. He does believe that there’s some things that cannot be explained and perhaps they were occasions in which those phenomenals have happened but are rare. But right now, he believed that the show he and his dear cousin just witnessed was far too good to be special effects. “I… I just don’t trust them,” he mumbles under his breath as he plays with his fingers nervously.

Pacifica squinted at him before her eyes were pulled away from him when she heard a russell up in the nearby tree that the truck was parked by. She looked up and she saw someone was in a tree. Someone small; a kid. Younger than them. Pacifica gasps, “Evelyn!” quickly, she went around the truck towards the tree and Gideon groaned, sitting up to get out of the truck to follow her with a lightheadedness shooting through his skull.

The kid was hugging a branch as she stayed still, looking down at her and Gideon with a grin. The little kid waves at them. “Hi!” she says, her voice high pitched, the same way all childrens’ voices are. 

Both the cousins were at the base of the tree, it was too far up for them to climb up after her. They turned around and saw Wendy sitting on the ground, her back against the tire she had been stomping before with her hands over her face and her shoulder shaking. “Can you climb down?” Gideon asks, holding the side of his head. 

Evelyn pokes her tongue out at him and his cousin. “Little shits,” she echoes her sister’s language. 

Gideon’s face turns pink in secondhand embarrassment before it fades away. “You have to climb down, Evelyn,” he says, trying to sound like the reasonable person here while the actual reasonable one seemed to be crying her eyes out by her truck. 

“Yeah!” Pacifica butts in. “We… we can get you ice cream!” she suggests even if she has no money on her. Hopefully the kid would forget about it by the time she decided to climb down the tree. 

The child seemed to be thinking this over before slowly letting go of the tree branch as she slowly began to climb down. But the moment her feet touched the ground she went off running. Both the cousins were far too shocked by how speedy she was that they went off after her a little too late. Running towards the direction of the Tent again. 

Pacifica ran, more light on her feet than Gideon, who didn’t bother to try in sports anyways. His cousin was in her schools’ cheer team while his favorite sport was hiding out in the library during lunch. 

His head was pulsing as they ran, terrified that he might start bleeding again and pass out but he pushes himself forward. Evelyn was running towards the back of the Tent where there was a smaller one hiding. It was small enough to be hidden away easily but it didn’t seem that it was just there for storage. Light pours out from under the fabric flaps of the small tent and the shadows of people walking around inside was seen. A sharp pain nails into Gideon’s forehead, his ears ringing a little. 

Evelyn stops in front of the small Tent’s entrance, looking up at it with awe, her tiny hand reaching over to pull it open, childish curiosity to see what and who was behind the not-so metaphorical curtain. She was interrupted when she heard the cousins running towards her and she swiftly ran to climb up the nearest tree again, skilled and light with youthful energy. 

The second the two cousins made their way past the small Tent’s entrance, the flaps were drawn open and the light shined on them except for the shadow of the person staring down at them with vibrant blue eyes. “Who’s there?” the person says and Gideon didn’t recognize the voice as the one from the Young Magician’s. It was almost unidentifiable without the air of speaking in a mystical tone and the showman’s character. 

Gideon and Pacifica froze, feeling like deers caught in headlights as all they could do is stare up at the performer. 

“Well? Who are you?” the Young Magician asks, his voice was far more serious than the one he uses on stage. 

It was Pacifica’s gasp that broke the shared uncomfortable silence. “You’re… You’re that guy!” she points a finger at him, stumbling over her words with excitement. “You were so cool up there!” she says as she steps closer to look at him and in return, the Magician takes a step back, unsure what to do with someone this straightforward and bold. 

“Thank you,” he mutters.

“Dipper, who’s out here?” a soft girl's voice came from the inside. The Young Magician moves aside for someone, her head being poked out. 

Here, Gideon understands why his uncle told them to stay away from these kids. Piercing blue eyes that shot through the darkness of the night while their faces were hidden by the shadow that frames their heads-- seeming too holy. Seeming too magical to be real. And those eyes… too blue to be natural. Too much. 

“Dipper?” Pacifica asks, her eyebrow raised in confusion as she focused on Young Magician. “ _ That’s _ your name? I thought you would be called some made-up mystical name like Glumnerd the Great or Fystain the Fantastic or Merlin.” 

Gideon lets out a sigh, a bit too embarrassed to get her to stop talking. 

The Young Magician’s face turns a beet red. “No one but family is allowed to call me that, understood?” he says, visibly angry at hearing someone besides those who share his blood utter that name. 

Both the cousins nodded, taking a step back and putting their hands up in defense. 

“You’re those new people in town,” the Sister mutters, her eyes as cold as her brothers’. Almost a spinning image of each other with those same features; a mirror and the reflection that bounced right back off of it. 

Gideon can see that they do indeed have white hair amongst their neatly done brown locks. The same amount in the same spot-- snowy strands grew out of their temples and some sprouted from their hairline. They were too much of a clean color for them to be dyed or even bleached, too perfect. The Sister’s was slashed across her bang and the Young Magician even almost-transparent fly aways that frame his face, perfectly placed there to give off the perfect illusion that they were imperfection. 

Pacifica nods, excited to meet these strange kids. She puts her hand out, the hand-made jewelry clicking together as she waits for a formal-ish handshake. “I’m Pacifica. Pacifica Northwest!”

The Twins eye her hand before they both stifle a small giggle, share a glance and mutter something to each other. The Sister took her hand but seemed to be a force of habit. She shakes it loosely before pulling away quickly, wiping her hand on her perfectly tailored blazer. It even seemed to shine under the moonlight. Gideon wouldn’t be surprised if silver was woven into the material. The brother’s grip was loose, his nose scrunched up. Faint disgust veils his face.

“Mabel,” the Sister mumbles. 

“And Mason,” the Young Magician mutters as if his own name was a warning. His eyes landed on Gideon and it made his blood run cold, feeling the numbing freezing begin to start again in his fingertips. “You are…?” pointing a finger at the two cousins vaguely, uninterested.

He gulps and looks down at his very dirty shoes, bending under the pressure of their piercing gaze. “Gideon Gleeful,” he whispers, taking a tiny step back and feeling his cousin and his own shoulder brush against each other. 

“We’re cousins!” she states, stars in her eyes as she gape at the magical twins before her. “Wow… you truly are twins, huh?” she asks, leaning forward, not seeing the uncomfortable look on said Twins by how close she was getting. Mabel hid a little behind her brother the same way Gideon did with his cousin. “We don’t get Twins back home,” she adds. 

“And where are you two country folks from?” Mason asks, mocking their slight Southern accent with a faint smirk. He lets out a cold chuckle, not hiding the fact that he found them amusing. And not the good type. 

“Texas!” Pacifica adds, oblivious at the boy’s tone. “Well… Texas and California,” she corrects herself as she thinks it over a little. 

Both the Twins giggle to themselves and each other, their shoulders pressing together as if they were inseparable. “What are you two… corn munchers doing here?” Mason’s eyes narrow at them a little, his arms crossed across his chest. He saw these cousins as nothing but dumb tourists. Seeing them as less than him and his sister, wasting their time.

Gideon turns pink at the nickname, chewing on the inside of his cheek nervously and subconsciously wrapping his hand around his cousin’s arm, who seemed to not notice but used to being held in this way.

“Oh! Right!” Pacifica says as she takes out the list out of the pocket of her colorful windbreaker pocket. 

The Twin’s share a look. “We don’t do autographs,” Mabel spoke, her voice softer than the one she uses on stage. More real and  _ almost  _ actually sweet. 

Pacifica tilts her head a little, confused. “Oh no! I just wanna write y’alls names down for my scrapbook! I’m making a list for everyone in this town.” She pulls a pen with funky 80’s design on them out of her blonde pigtails; the Twins staring at her as if she just did something so sinful. “How do y’all spell your names? I gotta ask. People spell their names so weird nowadays.” 

Mabel and Mason’s mouths were pressed into a tight line, identical expressions. 

“Also, I wanna know if I could meet your Great Uncles’ names and--”

“NO!” the Twins snapped back at her, making Pacifica let out a startled sound and dropping the pen into the ground. Mason clears his throat, pressing his first against his mouth as he seems to calm himself down. “I mean… no. No one talks to our Great Uncles unless told to.”

Again, Pacifica tilts her head, eyebrows knitted together. “Why?”

She didn’t have the opportunity to ask anymore questions before Mabel spoke up, placing a hand over her heart before bowing a little over her waist. “How about a Tarot reading as a way to apologize?” she spoke softly. Her brother soon joined with her, bowing over by his waist before the, coming back up to stand up together.

It made Gideon uncomfortable. They were extremely in sync with each other. He’s only heard about twins having a link, being able to communicate with each other as if they could read each other’s mind-- as if they shared a brain. Something about twins made him feel like he shouldn’t be seeing what he was seeing. Especially this pair of siblings. 

Pacifica’s face lit up at the mention of the reading, putting her list away. It was way too easy to impress her sometimes. “Okay!” she says as the Twins separate to make room for her to walk into the smaller Tent. 

Her cousin stayed behind, looking around a little and wondered if he could scream loud enough someone might be able to spot their bodies. “Come along,” Mason says, his white hair slick under the moonlight. “We won’t charge you one bit.” The grin on his face made Gideon gulp, a loud one too. He walked past the Magician and into the dimly lit inside. It seems as if it was bigger on the inside.

Candles with small blue flames were lit almost everywhere that it almost seemed like a safety hazard but there was a feeling in the room that they knew this, that they wanted the risk and that if that would ever happen, the Twins would control the flames back. There was a large mirror hanging up in between two pillars and a shared long vanity where there were many products laying there for the Twins to use alongside two wooden stools. 

On the left there was a small wooden table with a single candle lit up that corner of the Tent with three chairs; two on one side and one across the table. 

“Oooh,” his cousin says as she looks around the tent, looking up at the spot where the Tent’s highest point was in the middle of it and grins with excitement. 

“Come sit down.” Mabel was already sitting down in the single chair, her brother standing by her side with a hand on her shoulder, protective. He was glaring daggers into Gideon, who would have started sweating nervously if he could. His heart was pulsing in his ears and everything in his body was tense, the blood running through his veins told him to run. That lizard brain instinct that he has read about was kicking in but the ground below him had swallowed his feet. 

Pacifica sat down, the other chair was empty and it seemed that it was waiting for him. His feet moved by themselves, biting down on a yelp as he sat himself down. 

The blue flame flickered in between the Twins and the Cousins. Mabel’s elbow on the table as she touches her face softly with her hand, thinking things over in her mysterious brain while her sharp eyes didn’t leave them. Mason’s hand on his sister’s shoulder tightens, baring his teeth a little with his icy leer. Locking eyes with Gideon the moment his gaze was pulled towards the sister.  _ Overprotective _ , he notices as he bites his tongue hard enough for him to feel tears of pain weld in his eyes yet forces them down. 

His cousin was kicking her feet, excited. “Can you tell me who I’m going to marry?” she asks, her blonde bouncing up and down a little as she was buzzing in her seat like she had swallowed a swarm of angry fairies. 

The Sister chuckles, leaning over the table and leaving her brother’s grasp. She stares at the pair of cousins through her eyelashes. “Alright. A love reading then.” she puts her free hand up and with the wave of a hand, a deck of tarot cards float down into her palm.

Gideon gapes at it, seeing the magic up this close confirm the suspicions he wanted to ignore. To say that these are just clever kids with amazing talent in the arts. “How did you--” he was interrupted by the sister shuffling the cards and spreading them across the table in a short fan formation. 

“Choose three. These will represent you, the other person and how the relationship will be.”

Reaching over, the blonde takes three cards. One from the beginning of the fan of cards, the next one in the middle of the spread and the last card came was the last card on the table, the farthest from the flat deck; the abandoned one. She hands the Sister the three cards face down. With the wave of a hand made the cards slip back into a neat deck at her left. The first card she chose to flip over: “Ace of Cups. Upright.” 

“Yes!” Pacifica says in victory. “What does that mean?” she asks. 

“You are compassionate and ready for any adventure,” Mabel says wisely, eyes sizing her up and down but looking away last minute to flip the second card. “The High Priestess. Reversed. Your lover is secretive and withdrawn… in a silent position.” With the clear of her throat before flipping the final card: the Devil. “It is Upright. Your relationship will go through many struggles as there will be many shadows looming over your love and will be holding you two apart.”

Pacifica picks her head up to stare into the reader’s eyes while fidgeting with her fingers under the table. “But… we’ll get through it, right? They’ll love me right?”

Mabel blinks, shocked that this girl had hope. Many would have broken down crying in terror of ending up in a tight relationship where they cannot escape their shadows’ grasp. But this one, she was holding on tight. Tighter than the relationship itself it seemed. She would be the source of this, she was a hopeless romantic or she was just an idiot. There really was no difference between the last two, Mabel had learned. “I… I’m not sure. The cards can sometimes be, uh, fuzzy when it comes to do with love.” Gideon eyes the last card nervously. 

For the first time in a while, Mason makes a noise. A hum that came from the back of his throat but didn’t utter a word. 

“Thank you,” Pacifica says with a grin. 

Mabel scoffs as he slips her cards back into the deck. “You should have asked me what to do with your clothes. No one has worn those colors for the past thirty years!” she mocks with a faint smirk, still shuffling her cards. 

“OH! Oh, I know,” the blonde says, all cheery as she stuffs her hands in the pockets of her windbreaker. 

The sister didn’t seem to like the fact that her insult fell flat. She turns to look at Gideon, who tenses up under her and her brother’s glares, feeling as if there were swords all over him, ready to stab-- as a warning. “You, freckles. Would you like a reading?” 

His stomach churns into a ball of acid. “I…” he didn’t get to answer as Mason spoke for him, voice as icy as his eyes. “Give him a general reading. I doubt that love is even close to him when it comes to the cards.” he says with his arms crossed across his chest.

“I don’t know, brother dear. Frankly I think he’s adorable,” Mabel mumbles, shuffling her cards. Slamming the deck onto the table before spreading the cards into a fan in a sharp motion. “Past. present and  _ future _ . Choose three cards,” she spoke in a tone that showed that she wasn’t a huge fan of his existence near her.

Gideon nods frantically as he leans over, careful to see if they might nail his hand into the table and watch him bleed out. Picking up three random cards, he hands them to her with his palms metaphorically sweating and visibly shaking. 

She seemed pleased with his cowardness as well as her brother. A glint in those four eyes made it seem as if they were taught their whole lives that everyone was below them, planting that idea into their heads that they expect people to just shake in fear-- and they believed it too. Mabel flips the first card over: “Reversed Hermit. You were a lonely little boy back home, huh?” she scorns him with a wicked chuckle that her and her brother shared like it was a sandwich. 

His cheeks turn pink and drops his gaze on the wooden table that was scratched up with what he assumed were knife marks. He swallowed as he messed with his fingers. 

Another flip of the second card. “Hanged man. Upright.” She laughs when she sees Gideon’s hand reach up to his neck to touch nervously. “New perspectives. I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“I mean, with your height it would be a miracle, shortstack?” Mason joins the ridiculing of the pale boy with freckles, who just suck into the wooden chair like he’s melting. 

Final card was flipped over whilst their chuckling but stopped when they saw what it was. “... The Tower. Upright.” Mabel says, staring at the card with an expression that Gideon couldn’t quite place. She looked up at him, locking eyes with him and he had the instinct to just pull away from them but he was nailed into that position. Nowhere to turn to look away from those cerulean blue eyes that match their family name so well that it made him sick. “Something is coming, Gleeful,” she spoke slowly. “The end of you is coming soon.”

Pacifica’s gasps startled everyone in the Tent after what was a full minute of tensful silence. Gideon basically jumped ten feet in the air out of his seat while the Twin’s shook away their surprised and startled faces back to their controlled, cool expressions-- a sliver that shows that these kids are truly human. “You-- you have the Big Dipper on your forehead…!” Pacifica stutters out as she points at Mason’s forehead. She always does this when she speaks faster than her mouth could process. “ _ That’s _ why you’re called Dipper!” 

Mason’s face darkens at the comment. “Only family gets to call me that!” he says, leaning over the table, his face closing in with the overexcited blonde. 

Gideon pulls his cousin back when he swore that he saw the flames around them flicker, mimicking their anger. A wave of the hand made the cards slip back into the deck at the end of the table. He swallowed. “I think that… that it’s best to head back.” he yelps when his body is suddenly pulled at the end of the table. The glint of a throwing shining near his face. He wiggled away from the Brother’s grasp but it was tight and it was both freezing and boiling his skin. 

“You’re new in town so you clearly don’t understand that you crossed a line by saying that,” he spoke through his baring teeth. 

_ “That’s crossing the line?”  _ Gideon stampers out, shocked and confused that that was where the line was drawn by simply saying a family nickname. His eyes widened by how loudly he spoke with sudden bravery that rushed through him, he slapped his hand over his mouth when he saw the reaction that brought out the Young Magician. 

His blue eyes widened before he clenched his jaw, the grip on the throwing knife tightened.

Pacifica tried to pull Gideon away from his grasp. “Hey! Let go of my cousin,” she snaps, using all of her strength. “Why are you acting so weird, you weirdo? We were invited here anyways!” 

Two gasps. Mason lets go of the eleven year old, making him and his cousin land on the floor with a thud and a small  _ umph  _ of pain. “You were invited?” he asks, his grip on the knife loosens a little. 

The cousins stand up, rubbing their tailbones. Moments like these really show that they were related despite looking almost nothing alike. Unlike these twins who seemed like two drops from the ocean-- identical in looks and in character. On the surface. Pacifica nods, pulling out the barely-put-together paper out of her pocket, unfolding it to show the Twins. 

In return, they allowed themselves to look confused. Glancing at each other, it seemed that they just communicated something that it was just for each other. “Impossible,” they both muttered and the shadow cast across their faces from the candles in the room made their expression’s hard to decipher. The flames' height died a little.

Pacifica balls up the invitation, making an annoyed noise before throwing it at their feet. “We’re going back. Let’s go, Gideon,” she says as she pushes him softly as he holds his nose, more blood begins to drip. As they exit the Tent, she stops to look back at the Twins. “You’re weird. I like that,” she says with a smaller smile that she usually holds on her face, shy almost. “But you’re just mean.” Pacifica pushes her cousin out of the Tent before finally poking her head into the Tent for one last thing: “Also I like your head bow.” With that she was gone. 

Picking up the balled up invitation, Mason opens it. “It’s Great Uncle Ford’s writing,” he whispers. He would recognize the writing from anywhere, having to read it all the time. His sister looks over his shoulder to confirm it with a small hum with tight lips and furrowed eyebrows. “Why would he invite those country folk to the show?” she mumbles. 

Mabel made her way towards the Tent’s entrance, opening up the flaps to watch the cousins slowly leave with the moonlight being the only source around. She looks down and sees the pen that the blonde dropped. Picking it up she saw that there was a llama pattern all over. She smiles silently before slipping into the inside pocket of her vest. 

“Hey. You don’t think that that freckle face is adorable do you?” Mason asks, a serious tone to his voice and she didn’t have to turn around to know that he had a face of overprotectiveness. 

She snorts, turning around as she touches the amulet on her headband that that blonde had complimented, feeling the coolness of it under her fingertips. “Of course not. I don’t associate myself with corn munchers.” 

Her brother hums, his own hand reaching over to touch the birthmark on his forehead. 

  
  
  
  
  


Gideon was basically pushing his cousin away from those tents, wanting to get away from it as quickly as possible. He felt his fingers go numb and the blood dripping down his nose was making his face cold. Something about those Twins made his whole body run cold, an energy about them pulsed around them like the auras he has read about but didn’t understand since it wasn’t really backed with science. All he knew was that those kids were not normal. 

“Great,” his teeth were chattering by how cold he felt. His feet were freezing in his shoes and socks. “We just talked to those two and we haven’t even… even found that kid.” Gideon says, remembering that they were looking for that teen’s sister before getting dragged in. 

Pacifica shrugs. “At least I know how my future relationship will be,” she says dreamingly while she looks at the moon with a romantic smile.

Gideon stares at her, eyebrows raised in just shock by how oblivious she seemed sometimes. She wouldn’t know a threat if it hit her on the face with all its strength. “You actually  _ believe  _ them?” 

She shrugs again which annoys him a little bit more. “Hey, you believe that they have actual magic. I can believe in those cards, Cuzzo.” 

He sighs, exhausted and feeling right that this was a bad idea. Probably the worst idea that he had agreed to be a part of. And he’s done pretty stupid things with her. “I almost got stabbed, I think got hit on my a psycho twin and we lost a kid--” 

Evelyn suddenly drops into his arms, startling him a little. He looks up and sees that they were standing under a tree and she must have been hiding there. “HI!” she says, grinning up at him with a missing tooth. 

“Well we found the kid,” Pacifica says as she ruffles up the little kid’s black hair, who just giggles. 

“Evelyn-- Evelyn!” someone yells.

They turned around and they saw that it was Robbie and Evenlyn’s purple haired sister. She was scooped from Gideon’s arms by her sister who pulled her into a tight hug. “Don’t you ever scare me like that, you hear me?” she whispers. 

The little girl nods and giggles. “Little shit!” She ecoes and her sister’s face turns bright red. 

Tambry sighs. “Let’s get home. You better not tell Mom and Dad about this or I’m not sneaking ice cream into your room again, got it?” she whispers as she walks away with her sister in her arms.

Robbie smiles at the cousins. “Thanks, you two,” he says as he rufles up both their heads and only Pacifica laughs at the affection. Gideon just tenses up a little when he felt the teenager’s fingers in his orange hair. “Are you okay though? You’re bleeding again, shortstack.” he asks Gideon as he leans down to get a closer look. “Has this ever happened before?” 

Gideon shakes his head as his eyes are glued onto the teenager’s heavy, dirt-covered, curiosity to what he’s been doing for them to be like that. 

“Oh. He only starts bleeding when he senses ghosts are around,” his cousin butts in. 

He whips his head up at her. “Pacifica, no!” he scolds, embarrassment filling him to the brim and making his face turn as bright as the blood that drips down his nose.

“Ghosts?” Robbie asks, starting to walk the kids back to Wendy’s truck. 

Pacifica nods, skipping her steps as if she was a fairy. “Yeah! Gideon can sense ghosts!”

“She’s kidding,” he mumbles. “Ghosts aren’t real. She just likes to say that to make me sound weird.”

“Nu-uh,” she shakes her head. “I say that to make you sound  _ cool _ .”

The teenager snorts. “You two are something else,” he comments. “You act more like siblings than cousins. I wish my cousins and I were like this.” Robbie sighs as he tucks his hands into his pockets, tilting his head up to watch the dark night sky. Dark strands of hair part a little around his face when a breeze came in and he sighs, closing his eyes. 

Gideon drops his head to watch his dirty shoes move through the grass. He’s never thought about Pacifica as his sister since he’s never had anything to compare it to. When he was growing up, he always wanted a sibling but around the time he turned seven he had finally stopped getting his hopes up. And he never bothered to think of Pacifica in that way-- he saw it as maybe even pathetic. That he was so lonely and friendless that his only true friend was his cousin that he saw was a sister. Yet, hearing Robbie speak in that wishful tone, a sense of guilt filled him. Apparently not everyone had the same connection with their cousins the same way he and his overly excited blonde cousin had. 

He hums. 

Pacifica runs past the boys and goes to hug Wendy, who was leaning against the hood of her red pickup truck. The tip of the goth teen’s nose was pink and there was a bit of black surrounding her eyes. And not her normal makeup way. Gideon knew that she had a breakdown for some reason while they were gone and he can’t help but imagine her calming down and looking up and around before standing up and panicking. 

Wendy rubs under her eyes and the eyeshadow smudges a little. “Let’s get going,” she says as she pets Pacifica’s head. Almost sisterly.

His cousin stretches, pulling away from the teenager’s arms with a yawn and rubbing her face with the long sleeve of her baggy windbreaker. He remembered that he was there when she got that jacket, going out thrift shopping because Pacifica begged him to help her find something for a project and she pulled it out of the adult section. The look on her face was almost like she just found her soulmate and he swore that there was almost angelic music playing as she blew her all of the money in her pocket for that windbreaker. And he hasn’t seen her not wear it at least twice a week since then. 

Both the cousins climb in the front passenger seat, being squished together as they buckled up. 

The redhead hops into the driver’s seat, the truck sputtering on before looking up at Robbie. “Thanks, Valentino. I’ll be right back to pick your friends. I’m dropping these kids off,” she mumbles, blowing some hair out of her face to look at him. 

He nods. “Thanks… keep an eyes on those two, Corduroy.”

She scoffs. “I do  _ not  _ need you to tell me how to do my job, Mommy’s Boy,” she mumbles and she rolls up the window before he could get the chance to defend himself from her rude comment. She hit the gas and drove away far away from the Tents and the cabin. Many left-- especially the teens-- understanding that there was something odd about those kids and the family in a whole. Most of them now understood the fear that the adults in town had. 

The drive was silent, Gideon’s cheek was pressed against the colorful shoulder of his cousin’s jacket and her head was on top of his orange hair. He wondered if many thought that they were related, her being a redhead herself and Pacifica being a blonde it was most likely that many would have confused them as her siblings. Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t know anything about Wendy. The only hint he got was her glaring at that purple highlight girl and being just plain mean at Robbie. He was aware that this meant that they had history together.

Pacifica yawns again, hard enough that her jaw aches and some tears grow in her eyes. She glances over at Wendy, her face turning a little pink. The streetlights were on and everytime they drove past one, she saw the stressed expression on her face. The goth’s shoulders were high and tense and she saw that she was biting down so hard that she would probably break a molar. 

The blonde looks at his cousin, who was always staring at the teenager and how stiff she seemed.

Wendy lets out air from her nose. “Your uncle literally told you to stay away from that Tent. And what did you do? Go to the Tent! It’s like you want to get killed,” she muttered the last part as she drives past a Stop sign. 

Gideon’s heart drops and he suddenly imagines that boy stabbing him with that throwing knife and how close it seemed to actually happening. His hand flies to his neck, gulping a sour rock in his throat. That boy seemed the type to kill someone over something as little as saying his family nickname despite him being still a kid and him being rich and the family having a history of getting away with stuff with said money made him nervous. 

“They’re kids!” Pacifica points out. “I doubt that they would kill someone.”   
  


Wendy sighs, Jimmy’s shop filling her sight as she drives closer and closer. “I wasn’t talking about the kids,” she whispers. 

A silence fills the inside of the truck, her stopping the pickup truck a bit far from the shop so she isn’t spottened and fired on the spot. “Listen to me, kids,” she says as they unbuckle their seatbelts and are ready to get out and sneak back into the house. “That family is up to no good.  _ Nothing good comes from a Pines, _ ” she quotes as she stares at them in the eyes. A raw and vulnerable gesture that made Pacifica’s face heat up and Gideon feel extremely nervous. 

They both nod as they slowly climb out into the dark humid night that Oregon has with a slight breeze in the air. They closed the pickup’s door as quietly as they could before she drove off and left them to snuck in. They shuffle through the high grass that Jimmy has yet to cut and tiptoe back through where they originally came out from. The door creaks as they open it softly and slowly push it back closed, Gideon basically biting his nails off by how stressed he felt. 

They both let out a sigh of relief when the door clicked closed almost silently. But let out a scream when the kitchen lights were flipped on and their uncle was standing at the doorway with his hands on his hips and probably the most disappointed face anyone has ever seen. They both gulp. 

“Gideon Benjamin Gleeful and Pacifica Elizabeth Northwest, you two are in  _ deep  _ trouble!” 

Pacifica grins at her uncle awkwardly as she looks back at the door they just came from, almost wondering if she can make a run for it but it was too late. “Hi, Uncle Jimmy,” she says, swaying her arms side to side as she looks down nervously. “I… we… uh…”

“Would you believe us if, uh, we said that we were out.. In a midnight walk?” Gideon asks, messing with his fingers with his head down in embarrassment. His ‘good kid’ reputation was thrown out the window for a night that could have ended his life. 

Jimmy sighs harshly. “What was the one thing I asked y’all to not do, huh? What was it?” 

“Go near that cabin,” the cousins mumble together. 

“And what did y’all do?”

They both sigh. “Go near that cabin.” 

Their uncle rubs his eyes and lets out a huff, seeming too angry to even speak and had to get his thoughts together before opening his mouth and just spitting out inappropriate language in front of the kids. He had to remind himself that he isn’t in the army anymore. “The biggest rule I gave you, y’all two went out of your way to do it. Why?”

Pacifica shrugs. “We just wanted to go,” she mumbles. “”It’s not fair that we can’t go talk to them for some rumors going around! They’re kids just like us.”

“Wait. Y’all actually  _ spoke  _ to those kids?” Jimmy asks, his eyebrows furrowed with being smacked in the face with blatant disrespect as the anger began to process. “Oh my  _ god _ , Pacifica!” He looks at Gideon, who still had his head down and was staring at his feet. “And you, I expected better from you!”

“No,” the blonde says, standing her ground and ready to defend him. “It was my idea. Not his. I dragged him along with me.” She steps in front of her cousin, protecting him.

“You have no idea how dangerous those people are and you dragged him along too,” Jimmy’s hands were balled up as he squinted at the kids. 

She lets out an angry huff and stomps her foot. “It’s not fair that we don’t get to even go near them when they seem fine. They probably never had friends before and this is our chance for them to have an actual friendship! They’re probably lonely being cooped up in that big cabin.”

“Now you listen to me, young lady,” he whispers harshly and makes Gideon cower behind his cousin. “That family is filled with nothing but criminals, no-good doers, liars, cheaters, heartbreakers--” 

“Huh?” Gideon raises an eyebrow.

“-- blackhearted, selfish and you wanna know why? Because nothing good ever comes from a Pines.” he yells as both he and Pacifica stomp their feet down at the same time, making it feel like the house shook a little. 

“You’re wrong,” she snaps. “You wouldn’t know good or right in this town since you don’t go out!” she spoke with a flushed face as she walked past the tall, bearded uncle who looked like he was just slapped in the face. Pacifica stomps up the steps with her hands in fists and with her body tense, the blood rushing to her ears.

She slams the bedroom door hard and loud, Gideon was surprised that the screws didn’t go flying up the door and frame. 

  
  


Their uncle goes to the foot of the stairs, a vein popping out under his skin as he grits his teeth. “Go to your room!” he yells up the stairs, seething.

The door opens up and Pacifica shouts back: “You can’t tell me what to do!” the door closed back up for a second before it swung open. “AND I’M ALREADY IN MY ROOM!” It slammed one last time.

Gideon was still standing in the kitchen while they screamed at each other. He knew that his aunt, Pacifica’s mom, and his Uncle Jimmy were very similar. Bud had told him stories of when they were younger Pricilla and Jimmy would have screaming matches almost every night over the smallest things-- him using her expensive shampoo or her annoying him when it was his time to use the phone. It would usually end with both trying to out-scream each other and either or both of them losing their voices. Gideon knew that Pacifica was just like her mother: hot headed and with a temper.

He’s seen her pick fights and stand her ground at anything she saw unjust. Despite her being the kindest and friendliest person he’s ever met, that doesn’t make her weak or a fool. 

The blood had stopped dripping but it had half-dried around his nose and some around his mouth. It might have made him look like a vampire. He touched his face and he felt some of it flake off but most of it was still wet. It made him gag, his face turning a bit green under all the red. 

“Lets get your face cleaned up, kid,” Jimmy says as he sits Gideon down on the nearest kitchen table. Balled up napkins wipe his face. 

His cousin’s joke about his nose bleeds is strange but at this point, he might start to believe. At that show, he started to believe in magic. Actual real magic that he doesn’t understand or really want to even if the curiosity was gnawing at him. 

“There,” his uncle pulls away. “What happened? Did you get hurt? Did someone do this to you?” His eyes darkened at the last suggestion. 

Gideon shakes his head. “No, it’s okay.”

Jimmy sighs, placing his hands on the eleven year old’s shoulders, dropping on one knee to be at his level and looking him at the eyes. “Ya’ll spoke to those freakshows huh?” he whispers, serious. 

He nods, never having seen his uncle belittle and almost dehumanize someone before. Let alone a whole family. 

“Did they do anything to hurt you? What happened?” he asks, his grip on his shoulders tightened. 

This was the time to say that he witnessed kids playing with fire, making someone float, mind controlling a reporter with a sadistic pleasure in their eyes and then threatened them with a knife personally before promising a terrible fate from reading some cards. “No,” he shakes his head. “Nothing happened.” Gideon was never the type to lie when he knew something wasn’t true. Always following the rules and respecting them-- a good civilian. But he didn’t know what happened, the lie slipped out from his lips without a second thought.

Jimmy’s eyebrows shot up. “Are you sure?” he asks.

Another chance to say the truth. But again, he shook his head as he looked into his uncle's eyes that he and Bud shared. Basically lying to his father. 

His uncle sighs as he pulls his hands away from his shoulders. “Go on. Best you gettin’ into bed, kid,” he says. “It’s past your bedtime.” 

Gideon hops off of the chair, climbing up the stairs far more calm and quiet than his cousin did before in her fit of anger. He saw him stand with his hands linked behind his back, his head dropped as there was a thoughtful expression on his face that made him seem far older than Bud and Precilla. The lights were turned off after Jimmy let out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping. Gideon continues up the stairs before slipping into his bedroom.

  
  


Jimmy was standing alone in the dark kitchen, running a hand through his beard before looking at the back of it. In the darkness he could still see all of those scars that came from too many places and too many cars to count. But the darkest one was on his left-- three gashes that dragged together into the center of the back of his hand before fading away into the other side and disappearing in his palm. 

Flexing his fingers, he walks into the living room, past the stairs where his office was. Taking out the key from around his neck, he unlocked the door, looking over his shoulder before slipping inside. Locking the door from the inside once more.


End file.
